Against All Odds
by MidnightSky101
Summary: AU. WARNINGS: SLASH UTHER/MERLIN. The kiss was possessive, filled with rage, but Merlin wouldn't stop it..You're my son's best friend..I want you..You're the one who kissed me..I'm not just his sex toy..I'll take care of you..I don't want to let you go.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:**

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**I...never mind, just read it.**

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Merlin walked quickly through the rain, the cold drops sliding down the back of his neck beneath the collar of his jacket. He had his arms wrapped around himself, his sketchbook nestled under his jacket in a desperate attempt to keep it dry.

He hadn't meant to be out do long, but it happened every time he went to the museum, he would find a new piece that he would stare at in wonder, his mind trailing though one thousand scenes all from a single work of art.

He cursed himself for getting so absorbed in the world of fantasy that by the time he returned to the world, the heavens had opened and the angels had wept. He had tried to wait it out so he could run home in a dry interval, but was unsuccessful and had been made to leave at closing time.

It was times like these when he wished he had passed his diving test the first two times he had taken it; then he wouldn't have to walk across town to get to and from the art museum.

He had barely been walking for five minutes when a black Lexus began driving next to him. At first, he ignored it, thinking they were turning, but they stayed beside him. He glanced surreptitiously at the car and stopped in his tracks when he saw his best friend's father smiling at him from the driver's seat, leaning across slightly so that he could see him.

Merlin smiled back and waved awkwardly to the older man who stopped the car and beckoned to him. Merlin stepped closer to the car and opened the door, "are you sure?" He asked. "I'm soaking wet and your car-"

"Oh, no matter," Uther assured him," just get in, you look frozen." He beckoned again and Merlin climbed into the car, melting into the heated leather seats. Merlin dropped his sketchbook on the dashboard and fastened his seatbelt as Uther pulled away. "Where have you been?" Uther asked as he turned the heat on Merlin's side up.

"Art museum." Merlin answered as his teeth clacked. "Thank you. I thought that, after last week, that would be it for the rain, I was obviously wrong." Uther chuckled and nodded.

"Obviously." He agreed. "How's your lane holding out, by the way?" Uther asked, frowning slightly. Merlin lived in an old farmhouse down a dirt lane which became muddy when it rained.

"Not very well, unfortunately. There's too much rain for the ground to absorb so it just stays there." Merlin said after sighing heavily. "I had to walk through it earlier today, the museum staff weren't very happy with me dripping on their floors." Uther chuckled again, and then there was silence.

"So, what were you doing out in this weather?" Merlin asked finally.

"I was dropping Arthur off at his mother's house. An entire weekend with Morgana, he's so happy." Uther answered sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Ygraine, Arthur's mother, had left when Uther revealed that he was in fact, gay, taking her daughter Morgana with her, and if she had had it her way, she would have taken Arthur as well. Uther stopped and squinted to see out of the windscreen. "Oh dear." He sat back and changed gears. "Sorry Merlin."

Merlin strained his eyes and was just able to make out the 'Road Closed' sign through the heavy rain. He shrugged and turned to Uther. "You don't control the weather, it's not your fault." Merlin smiled at him.

"I'll take you back to our house and get you dried off; you can borrow some of Arthur's clothes." Uther suggested as he turned the car and headed towards his home. "I'll phone your mother to let her know where you are, then I'll take you home where the weather clears up." He looked up at the dark sky, "if it clears up."

Uther shut the cold, wet evening out and turned on the hallway light. "Alright, I should imagine you know where everything is," Merlin nodded, smiling brightly as he toed off his shoes. "Alright then, you go get dry and changed, I'll get you a hot chocolate and phone your mum." He nodded to the stairs as he took his jacket off and hung it up.

"Thank you." Merlin said politely. As he ascended the staircase away, his sketchbook slipped from his jacket and fell down several steps. Uther picked it up and held it in both hands.

"I'll keep hold of it for you so you don't shake water all over it when you're drying your hair." Uther smiled up at the younger man.

"Thank you." Merlin said again before continuing to Arthur's bedroom.

Uther went through to the house to the kitchen and flicked the kettle on. He picked up the phone and scanned through the speed dial for Merlin's number, humming to himself. When he found it, he put the speaker on and continued making the hot chocolates while the phone rang. "Hello?" Hunith had succeeded in hiding most of her worry, but Uther picked up on it straight away.

"He's fine, Hunith." Uther assured her as he searched for the marshmallows. "He's here with me. The road was flooded and we couldn't get to your house. I'll bring him back round as soon as I can. So there's no need for you to worry." He smiled to himself as he counted out the marshmallows, making sure to give Merlin an extra one.

"I'm not worrying, Merlin's a big boy, he can take care of himself." Hunith lied. "But thank you for calling, you're a saint, Uther. Without a father, he's lucky he has you, thank you."

"It's no trouble, he's a pleasure to have here, he's so polite." Uther complimented. "No doubt learnt it from you."

Hunith giggled on the other end of the phone. "Don't leave too early, I don't want you getting stuck in floodwaters." Hunith warned.

"Don't you worry about me, just enjoy the peace." Uther advised her as he poured the hot chocolates.

"I will, thanks again, Uther."Hunith said one last time. "Bye."

"No problem." Uther assured again. "I'll speak to you soon." He hung up and stood in the kitchen with nothing to do. His eyes fell on Merlin's sketchbook and his hands soon followed. He opened to book and flipped through the pages, staring in awe at Merlin's talent.

Merlin called trough the house and Uther quickly put the book down. "In here." He returned, picking up the mugs, ready to hand one to Merlin.

They stood in silence, leaning on the counters and watching the rain as they drank the hot chocolates, Merlin humming in pleasure every so often. "It doesn't look like it's letting up." Merlin commented before taking the last gulp of chocolate and placing the mug on the counter nest to the sink.

"No." Uther agreed, doing the same. He looked at Merlin and noticed some hot chocolate on his upper lip. Leaning forward, he gently wiped it away, his hand remaining on Merlin's skin for much longer than was appropriate. They locked eyes for a moment before moving away from each other, Merlin blushing and Uther coughing awkwardly. "Do you want to watch some TV?" He asked looking out of the window.

"Yeah, okay." Merlin followed the older man into the lounge and sat down next to him, wrapping a blanket around himself as they watched a documentary on something boring.

About ten minutes in, Merlin turned to Uther and asked, "what is this? Why are we watching it? Are there any movies on?" He took the remote from Uther and started scanning through the channels.

"Hey, I was watching that." Uther complained, trying to take the remote back.

"No, it's boring." Merlin argued, turning so his body was between Uther and the remote. Before long, they were grabbing for the remote, laughing childishly. Finally, Uther poked Merlin in the side, causing him to flail and fall of the sofa, taking Uther, who had become tangled in the blanket somewhere along the way, with him.

Merlin lay on the floor with Uther on all fours over him, both laughing loudly and trying to untangle themselves from the blanket, but it seemed to have no end. Merlin gave one last useless tug before giving up and letting his arms flop beside his head. "What is this blanket made of? Glue?" Uther chuckled and shook his head.

"It would seem so." He looked down at the young man and they both stopped laughing, his eyes occasionally flicking to Merlin's parted lips. Slowly, so slowly, Uther leant down and kissed Merlin gently. Merlin didn't moved, Uther didn't either, just kept their lips pressed together.

It was when he went to pull away that Merlin moved father than lightning, his hand on Uther's neck holding him in place, barely half a centre metre between them. Uther stroked Merlin's cheek before running his fingers through the dark hair, watching as Merlin's eyes closed and he leant into the touch.

Uther finally leant down again and kissed him. Teeth and lips clashed awkwardly as they gripped each other desperately. Uther pulled back sand moved away before Merlin could reach for him again, the blanket suddenly releasing him. "No."He said simply, covering his mouth and looking at the floor.

"No?" Merlin asked, sitting up to lean on his elbows.

"No." Uther repeated, stronger this time, looking Merlin dead in the eye. "No, Merlin! What the hell are we doing? We can't do this! You're my son's best friend; fresh out of sixth form and over twenty five years my junior. We can't!" Uther shouted, angry at himself for letting it get this far: he had always known Merlin was attractive, but this was something else.

Merlin knelt up and looked around the room, as though the solution to this would be written on the wall. "But…" Merlin didn't know what to say, he also knew that this was wrong, but that had felt so _right_, so natural, that must count for something. He explained this to Uther, pleading with him.

"Merlin, I don't know what that was," Uther sat in front of Merlin and took his self hands in his own.

"Well, what happened?" Merlin asked, he had to know now.

Uther ran it back through his head. "I was on top of you, and your hair was all messed up, and you looked so cute and so sexy at the same time that I just had to-" He cut himself off by kissing Merlin again. Merlin freed his hands from Uther grip and wrapped his arms around his neck. Uther pulled back as far as he could. "Merlin, let go." He said in a commanding tone.

Merlin shook his head. "I won't." He looked Uther in the eye, and Uther's eyes widened at what he saw. There, right in Merlin's eyes his emotions were so clear: fear, confusion, lust, and Uther thought, just for a second, that he caught something more. A single tear drop spilled from Merlin's eye. "I don't want to let you go." He whispered.

"Merlin, you can't do thi-" There was a flash of lightning, and then darkness.

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**A/N: Exactly. I don't know what's happening to me lately, I've even started to write a Gwen/Arthur fic. Jesus...**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Yeah, this chapter is mainly sex, so...if you have any sense at all, please look away.

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**Chapter Two**

Merlin had wrapped himself tightly around Uther's neck, fear taking over completely now. "It's okay, Merlin. It can't hurt you." Uther assured him, stroking his arm gently. Merlin said something in reply, but it was muffled in Uther's shirt. "What was that?" Uther asked, stroking Merlin's back.

"I said I know." Merlin answered.

"Then let go." Again Merlin shook his head. "Merlin, this-"

"You're the one who kissed me."Merlin pointed out. "You're the one…please Uther, just for now, can't we play make believe?" He moved to kiss Uther's neck, occasionally licking it.

"Merlin-"

"It's probably just a phase anyway, if I just had one night, I'm sure I'd get over you." Merlin said between kisses.

"Think about it, Merlin. Think of Arthur." Uther hissed.

"I don't want to." Merlin argued.

"Now you're sounding childish." Uther said, sighing.

"Well, that's all I am to you, isn't it? A child." Merlin said, pulling back and looking Uther in the eye.

"Now, that's not-"

"Uther! Think, would you? Just think! That feeling when you kissed me, before that even, anyone else would have _known_, would have _seen_ that there was something there. So why not you?" Merlin begged.

"Because I see sense, you stupid boy! You're nineteen, I'm almost forty five! Think about what people would say, think about what your mother would say! Just today she was saying that I'm a good _father _figure for you! And now…now…" He kissed Merlin again, unable to stop himself, but it was different this time.

The kiss was possessive, filled with rage, but Merlin wouldn't stop it, he couldn't, so he wrapped his arms around Uther as he was lowered to the floor, Uther lying on top of him, legs intertwining. "So stupid." Uther mumbled as he wrapped Merlin's leg around his waist.

"I know, sorry." Merlin answered, causing Uther to let out a breathy laugh. Merlin pushed his hips up to Uther's who groaned in response and grinded down into Merlin.

"Upstairs." Uther said simply, standing and pulling Merlin with him. They barely got out of the room before Merlin was pinned to the wall, Uther pressed against him, kissing him passionately.

Eventually, they made it up to Uther's bedroom, clothes falling from them as they went, so by the time Merlin was pushed backwards to lie on the bed he, like Uther, was wearing only his boxers.

Uther stood back and let his eyes sweep over the pale work of art before him, before Merlin became impatient and pulled him down on top of him. "Merlin…Merlin, are you sure? I mean, you're round here so often, and we'll have to see each other all the ti-" Merlin pulled him down into another kiss, limbs wrapping tightly around Uther as he pushed his hips up, their erections rubbing against each other. "Impatient brat." Uther grumbled.

"Thank you." Merlin beamed up at Uther, who rolled his eyes and began to lower the waistband of Merlin's boxers. Merlin let his legs fall from Uther and lifted his hips to help Uther lower his boxers as he kissed his neck.

Merlin rested his hands on Uther's back, fingers splayed out over the skin, before moving them lower. He slipped the tips of his fingers beneath Uther's waistband and stroked them across the skin to his hips, where they hesitated, shaking slightly, before slowly pushing the waistband down.

"Stop." Uther whispered, pulling Merlin's boxers up again. Merlin continued lowering the boxers slowly. Uther rolled his eyes and kneeled, moving to take hold of Merlin's hands. "I said 'stop'." Uther said again. He brought Merlin's hands in front of his face and kissed them both gently. "You're beautiful, you know that?" Merlin blushed.

"You're not too bad yourself." Merlin replied breathlessly. Uther chuckled and held Merlin's hand to his lips again.

"I need to know something, Merlin," Uther began, Merlin swallowed, he knew what was coming. "Have you ever done this before?" Uther asked.

Merlin stuttered and blinked _a lot_. "Wh-What do you mean by 'this'?" He asked finally.

"Are you a virgin?" Uther asked bluntly. Merlin swallowed again and looked away for a moment. When he looked back up at Uther, he worried his lip and nodded slowly. Uther sighed and moved off of the younger man, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"What are you doing?" Merlin asked, sitting up and gripping Uther's arm.

"Merlin, you don't want to lose your virginity to a dirty old man." Uther said, massaging the bridge of his nose.

"No…I don't," Merlin moved closer to Uther and wrapped his arm around his shoulders, kissing his ear. "I want to lose it to you." Uther looked at him in disbelief. "And before you even ask, yes I'm sure." Merlin let go and lay back on the bed. "Now do what you will with me." Merlin all but begged as he closed his eyes.

"Merlin-" Uther began.

"Come on Uther, I'm _begging _you here!" Merlin thrust his hips up to illustrate his point. "And besides, no one has ever touched me before, don't you want to be the first?" He looked at Uther in time to see him swallow thickly. "Don't you want to be the first person to touch me here," Merlin trailed his hands down his chest to his groin. "And don't you want to burry yourself in my-"

Uther cut him off with another kiss, one hand holding both of Merlin's in place on his stomach. "You really are a stupid boy." Uther murmured against his lips.

"You love me really." Merlin joked.

"Yes." Uther agreed. Before Merlin could say anything, he lifted his pale, slim hips and pulled off Merlin's boxers, leaving completely naked before him. Uther's eyes widened as they swept over Merlin's body; he looked like a child who didn't know which of his favourite toys he should play with first.

"You know, it's rude to stare." Merlin said quietly.

"It's hard to ignore a work of art."Uther replied, just as quietly as he moved to remove his underwear. Merlin strained his eyes in the darkness and…Oh God, he was naked.

Merlin couldn't help but stare at Uther's huge erection. "That will hurt." He hadn't meant to say it, just think it, but his brain had decided to voice his worries.

"Don't worry, it won't be too bad if I do it right. I'll take care of you, baby." Uther promised, crawling over Merlin and kissing him gently. His hands expertly roamed Merlin's body, seeking out all his weak spots, the one's that made him moan loudly and turn to jelly. He moved lower to play with Merlin's nipples, taking them in his mouth and sucking on them, kissing and licking at them while Merlin lay in euphoric bliss.

Uther reached aver to his nightstand and rummaged in the drawer. When he found what he was looking for, he pulled his hand back and sat up on Merlin's hips. Merlin groaned when the hands left his body and nudged his hips up into Uther's making his groan loudly before glaring at Merlin. "Stop that." He warned.

He opened the tube and squirted some lubricant onto his fingers, then moved off Merlin, tapping his inner thighs with his free hand until he opened his legs. Uther moved toile between them and pulled Merlin's leg up so he had better access to his arse. He slowly moved his fingers towards Merlin's virgin hole and leaned down to kiss Merlin. When he pulled back, he whispered "Last chance to back out, I won't mind, I'll understand."

Merlin shook his head and draped his arms over Uther's neck. "I want this, Uther, I'm not a child, I know what I want." Merlin said honestly. Uther looked at him for a while, searching his eyes for any doubt.

"Okay," Merlin kept his eyes locked on Uther's as he wriggled his finger forward and touched the burning skin. Merlin flinched away and tensed, his arms tightening around Uther. "Relax, babe, this'll hurt if you don't." Merlin nodded and bit his lip, trying his hardest to control himself.

Uther gently pushed his finger forward until it slipped into the younger man, with a slight whimper. "Shh, I've got you, it'll be alright." Uther reassured him, stroking his thumb over the side of his neck. "It'll get better." He slowly began moving the finger inside Merlin until he felt that Merlin was comfortable with it, then added a second finger just as gently as the first.

He continued working his fingers slowly inside Merlin until he had four fingers inside him, then he pulled them out and picked up the lubricant again. He was about to squirt some more onto his fingers when he was stopped by a hesitant hand. "Wait, I want to." Merlin said quietly, sitting up.

Uther took his hand and squirted the lube onto it for him, making sure he had more than enough – he wanted to avoid causing this boy pain as much as possible. When he thought Merlin had enough, he closed the lid and left the tube within his reach, just in case.

Merlin started stroked Uther's cock uncertainly, the moans from Uther making him more confident. Merlin still couldn't believe how big he was, and the thought of it being inside him...Merlin quickly finished and lay back down, spreading his legs for Uther. "Please, oh God, please, Uther." Merlin begged.

Uther's mouth went dry at the sight of Merlin so vulnerable and wanton. He leant over Merlin and lined himself up with his entrance. "Are you ready?" He asked one final time. Merlin nodded vigorously and pulled Uther down for a kiss. He held on tightly to the older man as he pushed forwards and, with one long thrust, his virginity was gone.

Merlin had to hand it to Uther, he knew exactly what to do to make the minute initial pain worth it. Rolling his hips forwards and angling them _just so_, making him hit something inside Merlin that made the lightning flash again.

He didn't last long and was finished after only a few thrusts crying out loudly as his nails cut into Uther's back, but Uther kept going long after that, and by the time Uther finally came, Merlin had come screaming again and was completely exhausted. Uther supported himself on his elbows so that he didn't crush Merlin's small body, his head resting on Merlin's shoulder.

"Oh my God…Oh my God…I just lost my virginity." Merlin said between pants. Uther's head snapped up and he looked at Merlin, horrified, realisation dawning on him too.

"Merlin, I am so sorry. I shouldn't have-"

"Will you stop apologising?" Merlin said, smiling up at him. "There's really no need to – that was…I don't really know…it felt…" Merlin flopped down onto the bed. "Wow." Uther laughed breathily at the younger man and kissed his neck. "Uther, I don't suppose you could…get out of me." Merlin said, blushing.

"Yeah." Uther gently pulled out of Merlin and crawled to the edge of the bed to get out. Merlin sat up suddenly when he saw this, wincing at the pain.

"Where are you going?" He asked, fearing that he would be left alone. He shifted slightly, trying to find a comfortable way to sit.

"I'm…" Uther looked back to see the fear and pain in the younger man's eyes. "Hey, don't do that, I'm not going far." He promised, stroking Merlin's cheek. "I was just going to get something to clean you up. Now lay back down." Merlin smiled and flopped back down on to the bed, closing his eyes.

"Thank you, but would you mind leaving it till morning? I'll strip the sheets if you want, it's just…two orgasms in a row…I just want to sleep." He opened one eye to see Uther nod. "Come back to bed?"

Uther shuffled back under the covers and Merlin arranged himself so he was resting his head on Uther's chest, their legs intertwined. "Arthur said you're applying to university." Uther said when they were comfortable.

Merlin looked up in disbelief, "now, Uther?" He asked.

"Sorry, sorry, I was just trying to be a good father figure." He smiled mischievously.

"You are so wrong." Merlin laughed despite himself, then rested his head back on Uther's chest. "Tomorrow, yeah? Not when we've just had sex." Uther chest rumbled as he chuckled.

"Okay," he stroked Merlin's hair gently, loving how natural this felt. "Goodnight Merlin."

"G'night." Merlin whispered. They lay in silence, drifting off to sleep until Merlin mumbled sleepily, "chest hair tickles." Then fell asleep.

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**A/N: How do you think I'm doing with this, personally, I don't think it's as bad as I thought it would be. Leave a review, let me know.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Okay, so third chapter, if you've stayed with me this long...then, I don't know what that means, but this is Muther so it can't be a good thing.

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**Chapter Three**

Uther woke and tried to turn on his side but was stopped by a weight on his chest. With confusion sweeping through his tired brain, he looked down to see a head of tousled black hair on his chest, the warm body of its owner pressing close to his side.

Uther smiled at his memories of the previous night and rested his hand on the younger man's shoulder as he threaded his fingers through his jet hair. He couldn't lie; it was wrong, disgusting even, but it felt so right to wake up with his son's best friend lying naked in his arms.

_Never again_, he told himself, _you already took his virginity, don't do anymore damage._ Before he could stop himself, he gently brushed away the hair that was covering his lovers-no, Merlin's, just Merlin- Merlin's eyes. Merlin smiled in his sleep and reached across to hook his hand on the side of Uther's broad chest.

It was in this moment that Uther realised he wanted to keep this man next to him forever, holding and kissing him, protecting him from the world. People would object, of course, but he would never let their cruel words reach Merlin's ears. _Stop that!_ Uther's mind shouted, _he's a boy, what were you thinking last night? You were thinking with the wrong head obviously!_

But still Uther would not let go of Merlin, he remembered the look on Merlin's face when he thought he was leaving him. He never wanted to see that again. He continued stroking Merlin's hair absentmindedly and let his thoughts wander. What if Merlin didn't want him anymore? What would he do if he didn't? What would he do if he did? What if he had scared him off with what he said? What would Arthur say?

"Arthur…" Uther sighed, "Forgot about that one." He grumbled, digging the heel of his hand into his eye.

Merlin stirred and stretched, arching against Uther, then threw his leg over the older man. Uther could feel his morning wood pressing into his hip and tried not to react.

"Mornin'," he mumbled sleepily, kissing Uther's chest.

"Morning, did you sleep well?" Uther asked, still stroking Merlin's hair.

"Better than I have in a long time." Merlin moved his head to Uther's shoulder, allowing Uther to give him a 'good morning' kiss.

"That's good." Uther wrapped an arm around Merlin's waist, forgetting how slim he was until then. "We need to get you some breakfast." Merlin mumbled an agreement but didn't move, content to lie in Uther's embrace. Uther let him for a few minutes then patted his shoulder, "come on, you go get in the shower, I'll make you breakfast."

Merlin grumbled as Uther shifted out of his reach. He opened his eyes and watched Uther stretch his arms to the ceiling and roll his shoulders. Merlin sat up to do the same but was stopped by a sharp pain. He whimpered and leant back onto his elbows.

Uther turned quickly at the sound, "Merlin," he knelt on the bed and kissed the younger man's forehead, stroking his back gently.

"Hurts." Merlin said simply, leaning into Uther.

"I'm sorry, Darling. It'll fade soon." Uther comforted, stroking Merlin's hair.

"No." Merlin protested weakly. "I don't want it to; it's you." He mumbled. He slowly lifted his head to look at Uther who was smiling sadly at him. "What is it?"

Uther shook his head and massaged the bridge of his nose, "Nothing." Merlin waited for him to say something else, but he stayed silent.

"I guess…I'll get in the shower, I'll change the sheets when I get out." Merlin offered weakly.

"No, you don't have-"

"No, I said I would so I will." Merlin said strongly. He stood, pausing only once to try to control the pain, then began locating his clothes.

"Fine." Uther sighed. Honestly, he didn't want the sheets changing; he wanted to sleep in a bed where Merlin's scent was woven into the sheets. He supposed when Merlin had gone he could change it back, even if it was just the pillow cases, anything to remind him of the glorious night he and Merlin had shared. "What do you want for breakfast?" He called after Merlin as he took his clothes into the bathroom

"Uh…Do you have cereals?" They did. "I'll come down and get some when I'm done, oh and…" Merlin poked his head round the door and smiled sweetly at Uther. "Could you leave some fresh sheets on the bed please, because I don't know where they are." Merlin explained.

Uther nodded and waved Merlin back into the bathroom, not bothering to tell him where the towels were, that much he knew from the countless times he had stayed with them overnight.

Uther looked round the room, yesterday's clothes scattered across the floor. He decided to have a shower once he had taken Merlin home and began pulling on some clothes. It was when he pulled a top over his head he discovered Merlin liked to sing in the shower. Loudly.

He chuckled at the younger man and closed the cupboard doors. _What happened to the pain, Merlin?_ He thought as he left the room that was filled with the sound of Lady Gaga's 'Bad Romance'.

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Downstairs, Uther was sat on the worktop eating toast, something he always told Arthur off for, when the phone rang. "Hello?" He said as best he could with toast in his mouth.

"You're sat on the worktop, aren't you?" Arthur voice greeted.

"Of course not, Arthur." He lied. "Good morning by the way. So why have you called? Is everything alright?" He asked, taking another bite out of his toast.

"Well, I think Mum's controlling the weather. She said that if it carried on raining and the roads were closed, she'd have to keep me here." Arthur said as if he was tired of repeating the same conversation, which he was to be honest.

"Ah, she's still doing that, is she?" Uther chuckled at his ex-wife's behaviour.

"Yeah, but that's not important." Arthur lowered his voice. "I wanted to tell you about this girl I met yesterday, she's one of Anna's friends and she's got coffee skin and chocolate eyes and curly hair and we have so much in common-"

"Aww," Uther interrupted, "Arthur's found a girl. My little boy's all grown up." He sniffled and made sobbing sounds.

"Da-ad!" Arthur whined.

"Alright, sorry. So, what's her name?" He asked, reaching for another piece of toast to find it empty.

"Gwen, and Dad she's-"

"Arthur?" A woman's voice could be heard in the distance. Ygraine. "Is that your father? Let me speak to him."

"Oh, right, yeah. Dad, Mum wants to speak to you."

"No, Arth-"

"What? Dad? I can't hear you? Dad?" Arthur called down the phone.

"Arthur?" Uther stood up and moved around the kitchen. "Arthur, can you-"

"Mum, I think the rain's affected the connection. Dad?" Uther stopped, mouth agape.

"You're a genius, thank you." He whispered to his son.

"Dad, can you hear me?"

"Pass me the phone." Ygraine said.

"Da-" Then he hung up. Uther put the phone on the worktop and resolved not to answer it for a while.

"Okay, bed's changed, the sheets are in the basket and I've squeaky clean." Merlin announced as he bounded down the stairs. "But I'm hungry." He smiled at Uther as he entered the kitchen then turned his attention to the cupboards. Uther watched as he reached up to get a bowl, then down for the cereals, his clothes revealing skin and shape to Uther.

Finally, he regained control. "Merlin, about last night," Uther began as Merlin poured milk onto the cornflakes.

"No one will know about it." Merlin finished for him. "Really Uther, I thought that after last night you'd stop treating me like a child." Uther shook his head, a smile, similar to Merlin's, on his lips.

"I'm going to go and brush my teeth, then I'll take you home, okay?" Merlin nodded, the spoon in his mouth. "Oh and, don't answer the phone." Uther warned.

When he came back downstairs, Merlin was sat on the worktop, watching the rain fall. He walked silently into the kitchen, right up to Merlin and whispered, "You should draw a rain scene, there isn't one in your book." Merlin jumped and turned to look at him.

"You looked through my book?" Merlin's eyes widened. Uther nodded. "Oh no, you saw all of those horrible pictures. They're not my best, I can draw better than that, honestly." Merlin defended himself.

"Well, I thought they were very good, and if you can do better than that then you must be amazing." Uther said sweetly, moving to stand between Merlin's legs.

"R…Really?" Merlin asked unsurely as he was pulled towards Uther, arms wrapping around his waist, while Merlin's settled on his shoulders.

"Definitely, I really like the one of the knight. The one where his horse is rearing and the lance in his hand is piercing through the clouds. But, did that cause the lightning or is he trying to stop it?"

"Pictures are what we make of them." Merlin said simply.

"That's not an answer." Uther protested, leaning forwards to kiss Merlin's neck. "That's just cheating." He kissed and licked the marks from last night. Then realisation hit him, he pulled back and stared at Merlin's neck, there were two visible hickeys; one small, faint one, and one very obvious one. "Ah."

"Ah?" Merlin asked, raising a hand to his neck. "What's wrong?"

"Uh…Did you bring one of your scarves with you?" Uther asked, not taking his eyes off Merlin's neck.

"Yeah-Oh, that." Merlin's finger's rested on the hickey. "Yeah, I'll keep my scarf on around my mum." He laughed, stroking the mark fondly.

"Speaking of which, we need to get you home." Uther stepped back suddenly.

"No, Uther, just a bit longer." Merlin begged, hopping off the worktop and walking to Uther, wrapping his arms around him.

"Hunith will be getting worried, come on, get your book and scarf and I'll drive you home, hopefully the council is doing their job."

Merlin tied the scarf around his neck and smiled at Uther, they were stood by the front door, just about to leave. "Very nice." Uther complimented, handing his sketchbook back to him. He was about to open the door when Merlin stopped him.

"Just…just one more kiss, please?" Merlin asked, holding onto Uther's sleeve. Uther stroked Merlin's hair and rested his hand on the back on Merlin's neck.

"One more kiss." He agreed, pulling Merlin towards him and kissing him passionately. Merlin wrapped his hands around Uther's neck, dropping his sketchbook, uncaring. If this was the last kiss, he would make it last, holding onto Uther tighter, he didn't let him pull away.

Finally, when he was becoming light headed, he pulled away, loosening his arms around Uther's neck. They just stood there then, breathing.

Uther flattened Merlin's hair and rubbed his cheek before letting go. "No more." Was all he said, but Merlin knew. He bent down to pick up his sketchbook for him. "Don't ever drop this again." He warned.

"It's just sketches." Merlin pointed out, taking the book.

"Right now, yes." The drive back to Merlin's house was quiet, Uther took an alternate route to get to Merlin's house but stopped at the lane.

"The wheels will probably get stuck in that, I didn't realise it was that bad." Uther stared at the muddy lane before him. "Are you two alright down there?" He asked, concerned.

"We'll be fine; it never comes up to our house." He unbuckled his seatbelt and grabbed his book, tucking it in his jacket, zipping it up. "Thank you." He said one last time to Uther, letting his hand glide across Uther's for a moment before he was out of the car, jogging down the lane, turning onto his drive about ten metres down.

Uther watched until the last moment, then went home to an empty house.

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**A/N: Aww, kisses. Aww, Muther kisses, I'm strange, aren't I?**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Yes, I do know what it says on my profile but...for one reason or another I have not been writing much on this...possibly because my memory stick decided to corrupt it because that's how it rolls...Yeah, sorry, I promise never to say that again.**

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Merlin was woken by _'Great Balls of Fire'_ – which he recognised as Arthur's ring tone – on Wednesday morning. He stuck a hand out from beneath the duvet, feeling around his beside table for his phone. After finding it, he pulled it into his soft, warm lair and hit the accept button, groaning. "What do you want?" He grumbled.

"Morning, Sunshine." Arthur greeted cheerfully. "Were you sleeping?" He asked in a baby voice. Merlin grunted in response. "Dreaming of me?"

"No, your father." The truth, but in a sarcastic tone. There was silence on the other end before Arthur whimpered pathetically.

"Thanks, Merlin, I really needed that mental image, didn't I? You'll be paying for my therapy if you keep this up." Arthur threatened.

"Fine, will you let me sleep now? I was working late at the restaurant." Merlin complained.

"Merlin, give it up, I know you work at the strip club when you finish at the restaurant." Merlin rubbed his face.

"I will hang up, Arthur." He threatened the blonde.

"Okay, wait, I'll stop. Listen, I'm having a party this weekend and I need you there. I'm going to invite Morgana and suggest she brings her friends Gwen along, so you need to keep her company while I flirt with Gwen because she's really cute, got it?" Merlin blinked.

"Uther's fine with you having a party?" He asked suspiciously.

"Yeah, he left me in charge because he'll be on a business trip, staying over somewhere." Arthur explained before biting into something crunchy – most likely toast.

"Right, okay, which-"

"Oh, by the way, I heard about your job at the coffee house, what did you do to get fired?" He laughed at his friend.

"I was not fired, I was made redundant." Merlin rubbed his eyes, suddenly feeling very tired again.

"Yeah, I'll pretend to believe you. Party? Are you coming?" He asked again, sounding desperate.

Merlin sighed heavily before answering, "I'll call in a favour with Will and see if he can take my Sunday lunch shift this week." Arthur whooped. "Will there be booze?" He asked as an afterthought.

"Of course!" Arthur answered around a mouthful of his breakfast.

"Well that was a nice mental picture of you spitting toast all over your crumbs, I hope Gwen gets to see you when you're like this." Merlin commented sarcastically. "I'm staying round yours; I don't want to listen to my mother's lectures while I'm hung-over."Merlin cringed at the thought.

"Great, be there at four to help me sort everything out, you know, put breakable stuff away, put booze out."

"Yeah, sure, can I sleep now?" Merlin asked, an arm across his face.

"Of course you can, Princess, see you Saturday." Arthur blew a kiss down the phone before hanging up.

Merlin was stood in Arthur's crowded living room, three drinks in him and one in his hand, and scanned the room for a face he knew. He spotted some of Arthur's football team on and around the sofa; Kay in the corner with his arms spread across the back, Oswald on his right and Leon on his left, Owaine knelt on the floor with his head resting on Leon's thigh.

Oswald caught sight of Merlin and waved him over to the sofa. "Heya, Merlin, it's been a while." He greeted in a friendly manner while taking Merlin's drink from him. The other players greeted him in the same way and Kay pulling him onto his lap.

"Hey, what are you-"

"We want you to sit and talk to us and there's no room on the sofa, you don't mind, do you?" Kay asked as he pulled Merlin to lie back against his chest.

"Oh, okay, I guess-"

"Here, Merlin, would you like a drink?" Oswald asked, offering his drink which Merlin took gratefully as his seemed to have disappeared at some point.

"So, Merlin," Owaine began, now sat beside Leon, "What have you been up to lately?"

"Huh? Oh, not a lot really…working mainly, I visit the art museum quite a lot." Merlin smiled brightly, ignoring the way Kay's arms seemed to loosen and drop lower.

"Oh right, you like art then?" Kay asked as Oswald rested a hand on Merlin's thigh and let it slowly travel upwards.

"Oh, yes, I think it's amazing how a person can start off with nothing and then…" He trailed off when Leon cupped his face, gently stroking his thumb over his jaw, and pulled him in for a gentle kiss. Merlin pulled away quickly. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing." Leon answered innocently. "I just thought that maybe we could have a little fun." He continued not-so-innocently.

"I really don't think-"

"Come on, Merlin, please, we'll be good." Owaine assured him, and despite his best efforts, Merlin found that nothing he did affected them.

"Yeah, your virginity is safe with us, I promise." Leon smiled reassuringly as he rubbed his arm. Slowly and hesitantly, Merlin nodded, unable to refuse. Kay turned his head so that he could kiss him.

And suddenly there were hands everywhere; stroking, grabbing, tugging, but Merlin didn't mind. Someone was kissing his neck while a hand stroked up his inner thigh towards his growing erection.

Another hand palmed him through his trousers and Merlin broke away from the kiss, pushing away from Oswald who was trying to latch onto his neck.

"Wait, what are you-"

"Shh, it's okay, Merlin." Kay pulled him back against his chest, kissing his neck gently as he tried to calm him despite how Merlin struggled against his strong arms.

"No," he turned to Leon, "you said that-"

"Leon won't break his promise, your virginity will be fine, just a few touched, yeah?" Oswald promised.

"Yeah, you'll enjoy it too." Owaine agreed.

The voice of the sober part of Merlin that was screaming at him to stop began to fade as a louder voice told him to let them have their fun.

Merlin relaxed against Kay and, lowering his arms from their defensive position, allowed himself to be touched by the other men.

Kay was shifting beneath him, rubbing his cock between Merlin's cheeks. Merlin groaned in response and turned to kiss him.

Before he knew it, Oswald was straddling his right leg and pushing up his shirt to expose the pale flesh. Leon kissed and licked at the newly exposed skin, moving lower to Merlin's hipbone that was just over the waist of his jeans.

"Oh God." Merlin groaned, bucking his hips, causing Kay and Oswald to groan as well.

He felt someone's hand travel to his jeans fastenings as his name was called. He vaguely waved a hand so that the person could pot him, but it was caught and guided to someone's hot groin.

Merlin opened his eyes to see Owaine rubbing against his hand, then he looked round the room at the crowd of people, most of whom were ignoring them. Leon followed his eyes and leaned into Kay as Oswald blocked Merlin's view by kissing him hard. Merlin heard him whisper, "Maybe we should take this somewhere more private?" Before Oswald and Owaine were both pulled off him forcefully.

"What the hell are you doing? Get off him!" Arthur's voice rang through before he pulled Merlin away from Kay's grip by strong arms. Arthur forced Merlin to look him dead in the eye. "Did they give you anything?" He asked seriously.

"Drink." Merlin answered simply. "From Oswald." He added and Arthur turned to his team mate.

"What was in it?" Oswald tapped the side of his nose, sitting back next to Kay. "Tell me, you bastard!" He shook his head and smirked. "I'll deal with you later." Arthur promised. "Come on, Merlin." He led Merlin through the crowd and up the stairs.

"I didn't know that they were gay." Merlin commented when he could hear himself think. He tripped over his own feet and Arthur caught him, keeping an arm around him as they walked.

"Merlin, do not ever accept a drink from them again, please. And they're not gay, their girlfriends aren't here, they're pissed and most likely high." He explained as he led Merlin down the long hallway.

"Oh, right." He stopped suddenly and looked around. "Where are we going?"

"My room." Arthur gave Merlin a quick shove to start him walking again.

"So you took me away from them so that you- hey," Merlin pointed to Uther's bedroom door as they passed, "I lost my virginity in there -so you could have your wicked way with me?" He continued.

"No, Merlin, I'm keeping you away from everyone because I don't know what Oswald gave you-" Arthur froze, one hand on the door handle. He turned Merlin to face him and held his shoulders. "What did you just say?"

"You wanted to have your wicked-"

"Not that, about your virginity, you pointed to my father's door?" Merlin looked back at the door, then at Arthur.

"I did?" Arthur nodded. Merlin looked at the door again then back to Arthur. "When?"

Arthur studied Merlin for a while before writing it off as drink and drugs talking. "Come on." He pulled Merlin into the room and pulled back the duvet of his double bed before pushing Merlin into it.

"Whee!" Merlin shouted as he fell, then started giggling when he landed. Arthur rolled his eyes and pulled of Merlin's shoes and pulling the covers back over Merlin.

"We really need to find out what the hell he gave you." He said as he leant over Merlin. Merlin nodded in agreement. "Okay, do not let anyone but me through this door. I'll be right back with some water." Merlin nodded and curled up in the bed, giggling. Arthur looked at him strangely before leaving.

Merlin was not alone for fifteen seconds before Oswald slipped into the room, drink in hand, unnoticed by Merlin who was lay with his eyes closed. He crept up to the bed and knelt beside it. "Merlin." He called quietly to the dark haired boy.

Merlin opened his eyes and smiled at the man. "Hey, it's you!" He greeted happily, reaching out to the man,

"Yeah, I brought you a drink." He offered the drink which Merlin took gladly.

"Thank you." He finished the drink and put the empty cup on the nightstand.

Oswald climbed on top of Merlin, trapping him beneath the duvet. "You have to be quiet, Merlin, okay?" He whispered. Merlin nodded, a finger on his lips. "There's a good boy." He kissed Merlin again and began pulling the duvet down, moving so he could throw it onto the other side of the bed before settling back on Merlin's stomach.

Knowing he had very little time, he moved Merlin's hand to his crotch, groaning and moving lower over the him as the dark haired male squeezed. "Merlin," he whispered against his too-big-ear. "have you ever given head before?" Merlin shook his head honestly. "Okay," He began loosening his belt and undoing his jeans. "What I want you to do is put my cock in your mouth and suck it…kind of like a lollypop, yeah?" Merlin nodded and reached out to Oswald's cock before pulling back suddenly.

"Wait, wait, Arthur said…Arthur said that you're just drunk and high and you're not meant to be in here, so I don't-"

"Come on, Merlin, please, I promise I'll return the favour." Before Merlin had a chance to answer, the door opened and Morgana crept in, straightening when she saw Oswald and exclaiming, "What do you think you're doing? Get out!"

She then literally kicked him out, his jeans falling down and his boxers doing nothing to hide his erection as he stumbled along the hallway.

"Morgana!" Merlin shouted happily, turning the woman's attention towards him. His smile faded suddenly. "You should leave, Arthur said-" Morgana rolled her eyes and pulled the duvet over Merlin again.

"You really are an idiot, aren't you, Merlin?" She smiled sweetly at him as she perched on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah, I know." He agreed sadly, then looked up at her, worry in his eyes. "You do still love me, don't you?" He asked her.

She laughed and took his hand. "Of course I do, Merlin." He smiled and puckered his lips expectantly. Morgana leant down and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

"Oh for crying out- Morgana!" They both looked to the door to see Arthur with a glass and a jug, both full of water. "It's taking all of my energy to keep the guys away, please not you too!"

"Funny, Arthur." She said sarcastically. "I just saved your best friend from being raped so be nice." Arthur muttered a 'whatever' as he handed the glass to Merlin and placed the jug on the nightstand.

"I brought this in case you…" He picked up the cup and looked at it suspiciously. "This wasn't here when I left you."

"Oh, yeah." Merlin said against the glass. "Oswald came in and gave me a drink." Arthur stared at him in disbelief.

"You…twice, Merlin? Really? And after I specifically told you not to take a drink from him!" He sighed and put the cup back down. "Morgana, you can go back to the party, I'll-"

"Don't be an idiot." Arthur scowled at her. "Go talk to Gwen, she's alone at a party where she knows no one and she likes you. I'll guard Merlin." Arthur grinned at his sister and kissed her forehead.

"Thank you." He hugged her before heading to the door.

"Oh, Arthur, you hurt her and I'll kill you." Morgana threatened casually. Merlin giggled at her.

"Sorry, Arthur." Merlin said as sincerely as he could.

"Get some sleep, Merlin." Arthur answered before leaving.

"Yeah, time for sleep, you." Morgana said and began humming a lullaby. Merlin was soon drifting off, the tune echoing in his mind.

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**A/N: Woohoo! Merlin didn't get raped...this time...Please review my lovelies! Kisses!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: WOOHOO! Finally wrote it! Told you I'd write it this weekend, To-chan!

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**Chapter 5**

Although Merlin had fallen asleep at Morgana's side, he woke up next to Arthur the next morning. The blonde was snoring loudly in Merlin's face and farting occasionally. Merlin groaned and turned over, trying to ignore the snoring and the woodpecker that may or may not have perched on Arthur's headboard and was now trying t find a way to the pillow. Which would be fine, if it wasn't trying to go through Merlin's brain.

He closed his eyes tightly and tried to get back to sleep and was almost gone when an arm wrapped around his waist and pulled him back against Arthur's hard chest and hard- "Oh, God." Merlin tried to loosen Arthur's grip or prise his fingers away, but he just held tighter and snuggled into his shoulder.

"Mmm, Gwen…" He murmured happily, oblivious to Merlin's discomfort – in more ways than one. "Gwen…" He murmured again, rolling his hips and kissing Merlin's neck.

"Whoa! Too far! Let go, now!" Clearly that was not the smartest thing to do because it cause Merlin further death and Arthur to fall off the bed in shock.

"Merlin, what-" He took a second to remember what had happened the previous night. "Oh yeah." He climbed back into the bed and lay back down next to Merlin. "Umm…sorry." He said lamely.

"Hmm," Merlin shrugged and lay so he and Arthur were facing each other. "It wouldn't be the first time, would it?" He whispered, not wanting to anger the evil woodpecker any further.

"Oh, God, don't." Arthur wiped a heavy hand over his face, before reaching moving over Merlin.

"Me don't? What the hell are you doing?" Merlin poked Arthur's bare stomach.

"Merlin!" Arthur protested. "I'm only getting the aspirin." He knelt back on his side of the bed, tablets and water in hand.

"Oh, how wonderful for you." Arthur rolled his eyes and gestured to the nightstand.

"There's some for you, but I'd be careful, I still don't know what you had last night and I don't want you blowing up or something." He took one of the aspirins. "Far too loud and messy." He added.

"Thanks." Merlin turned and saw two tablets and a glass of water. He sat up and picked up the little bits of heaven. "What happened last night, anyway? Why would I blow up?" He asked the water.

"Oswald drugged you, remember?" Arthur said as though it was obvious, which it really was. Merlin almost spat his drink over Arthur's bed.

"He did _what?_" He demanded.

"You don't remember? The guys were trying to take advantage, they drugged you, started feeling you up." He thought for a moment, as if realising something. "In the living room, with people everywhere…the sick bastards. Anyway, then he gave you more stuff while you were up here-"

"He was in here? In this room? What did he do? Am I…Am I…" Merlin gestured vaguely.

"Yes, Merlin, you are still a virgin, Morgana came in before he could do any damage." He held Merlin's cheek and spoke in a baby voice, "it wouldn't do to hurt ikuw Merwin, would it? No, because Hunith would kill me." Merlin groaned and shoved his hand away.

"Yeah, well I'll tell my mum how I woke up with your hard-on pressed against my ass, see what she thinks of that." Merlin threatened.

"Yeah, you do that and you'll have my foot up-"

"Oh, boys? Are you awake?" Morgana called as she opened the door. "Good morning, can we come in?" She asked from the doorway.

"We?" Merlin asked. Morgana opened the door to reveal a very shy looking girl in short pyjamas. "Oh, hi, you must be Gwen." Merlin waved shyly. "Come on in," Merlin glanced to Arthur and noticed the slack-jawed look and the slowly rising tent in his boxers. "Oh, look, he's back."

Arthur snapped back to the world and pulled the duvet higher. The girls made their way to the bed and Morgana sat next to Merlin. "How are you feeling, Merlin? Does your head hurt? Did you sleep well? Did Arthur try anything?" She asked, a hand on his forehead, shoulder, cheek.

"Yeah, I'm good. Arthur…it's morning." Merlin said simply, shrugging. "My God, what are you two wearing? Get in here." Merlin scooted over, forcing Arthur to do the same so the girls could join them. Morgana happily snuggled down next to Merlin, but Gwen stood hesitantly.

"Come on, Sweetie, what's wrong?" She glanced to the boys. "You don't have to worry about them, Merlin's gay and Arthur's leaving to get us all breakfast, yeah?" Morgana hinted as Gwen climbed into the bed.

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Arthur slipped out from under the covers and Morgana squeaked and covered Gwen's eyes.

"Arthur Pendragon, put some clothes on!" Arthur quickly grabbed his dressing gown and put it on.

"Sorry." He mumbled before leaving. Morgana took her hand away from Gwen's eyes and leant on Merlin's shoulder.

"He's such an idiot." She massaged the bridge of her nose.

"Yeah," Merlin agreed, resting his head on hers. "I mean, sometimes, he can be very kind as well. He looked after me last night." He told Gwen.

"Oh, did you have too much to drink?" She smiled sweetly, then looked horrified. "I-I don't mean that you look like you drink a lot. I'm sure you can hold your drink as well, it's just-"

"Sweetheart, calm down, breathe." Morgana rubbed her arm soothingly. "Merlin doesn't judge, he's sweet and lovely…and I miss him." She leant on his shoulder, still holding Gwen's arm. "I never see you now, I live so far away!" She complained.

"Morgana, you can come and see me anytime, you can drive." Merlin reminded her.

"Yeah, but you can't." She smirked.

"Yeah, yeah, shut up, you." He poked her ribs before turning his attention to Gwen. "Is she like this with you? Or is it something about me that makes her bitchy?"

Gwen giggled at the pair. "No, just you." She admitted.

"Yeah, it's probably because you're a bitch too." Morgana stuck her tongue out at Merlin and he immediately set about tickling her and was soon sat on her stomach, pining her arms to the bed. "Abuse! Arthur!" She shouted.

"Shh, don't get him involved." Merlin whispered. "Just be quiet."

"Make me." Morgana said maturely.

"Fine." He leant down and kissed her, open-mouthed and gentle. "Guh, morning breath." He murmured against her lips. They both started laughing and Merlin sat back up on her stomach.

"Uh! A gay guy kissed me!"Morgana complained in a childlike voice.

"Yeah? Well I had to kiss a girl." He looked to Gwen who looked awkward and shocked. "Don't worry, she's a man really. So what do you think of Arthur?" He asked casually, putting a hand over Morgana's mouth.

"Oh, he's very kind and handsome." She blushed and started rambling again. "I mean, not that I was expecting him to be anything else, and not that-"

"Do you want to know a secret?" Merlin whispered. Gwen hesitated before nodding. He climbed off Morgana and moved next to her. "He likes you. A lot." Gwen blushed even more.

"Really?" Merlin nodded.

"You like him too, yeah? I saw the way you looked at him." He nudged her shoulder with his own.

"He…" She nodded, biting her lip.

"Aww!" Morgana and Merlin cooed in unison.

"You'll be so cute together and-" The door opened and they silenced themselves. Arthur stood in the doorway and stared at the three before pointing to Merlin and Morgana.

"You two were being weird again, weren't you?" The pair put on their best innocent expressions before denying his accusation. "Right…so breakfast?" He gestured to the hallway.

"Oh, food!" Morgana jumped out of the bed and stopped suddenly when she was half way across the room. "Oh, Gwen, you look frozen, Arthur, why don't you take her to find something warm to wear?" She gave him a look that said _'Do it! Hint, hint! Go, you stupid man!'_

"Uh, oh, yeah, come on, Gwen." He held his hand out and she walked slowly across the room to take it and be led out. As they left, she turned to Morgana and mouthed 'thank you' to her to which Morgana nodded a response.

"You're a good person. Race you downstairs." Merlin ran past her and she shouted after him before chasing.

"I've never seen Morgana like that." Gwen commented as Arthur led her into the spare bedroom where Morgana and Gwen had spent the night.

"No, they're fine when they're separated, but put them together and their like maniacs." He slid open the closet and browsed through the clothes. "Did you sleep well, by the way?" He asked.

"Oh, yes, thank you for letting me stay the night." Gwen answered politely.

"Well," Arthur began as he pulled out a fleecy dressing gown and inspected it. "It wouldn't do to let such a beautiful girl find her own way home that late." Gwen blushed and Arthur froze, realising what he said. "I'm sorry, that was-"

"No, it was very sweet." There was a moment of awkward silence before Arthur held the dressing gown up for her.

"My Lady," he smiled sweetly and gestured for her to turn around.

"Why do you still have your mother's clothes here?" Gwen asked as she slipped her arms into the warm sleeves.

"Well, originally because my mother was angry. She left them here on purpose, said that my father might enjoy playing dress up. He doesn't, just to clarify. Then we kept them in case Morgana ever forgot anything." He explained as he un-tucked her hair, stroking it gently.

"That makes sense." Gwen said slowly, fidgeting with the tie. Arthur blinked and took his hand away.

"Um, breakfast?"

Soon after breakfast the girls decided that they should head home and the boys were left alone.

"So what do you think?" Arthur asked Merlin, referring to Gwen.

"She's lovely." Merlin fluttered his eyelashes then hit Arthur. "Why didn't you say anything?" He hissed.

Arthur frowned, then sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Because I won't be here long." Merlin sat up straight, spinning the bar stool to face Arthur.

"What? Why? Are you dying? Arthur, what's-"

"Nothing's wrong, it's just…I'm leaving for university in just over a month. I'll be miles away and I don't think it's right for Gwen-"

"You're an idiot." Merlin said simply. "A really big idiot." I saw the way the two of you looked at each other. Spend some more time together before you leave, phone her everyday after you leave but you can't just not do anything. She really likes you, you can't leave her. You'll break her heart." He explained.

"She won't take it that hard, she-"

"I'm home!" Uther called through the house. "And I smell bacon. Where are you, Art?"

"Kitchen, Dad!" Arthur called.

"Here," Merlin handed Arthur a folded piece of paper. "Gwen's number, ask her to meet up with you at some point, yeah?" Arthur took it and looked at Merlin seriously.

"You're such a girl, Merlin." Merlin rolled his eyes and turned his attention to the door as Uther came in.

"Good afternoon, oh, Merlin, I didn't realise you were still here, how are you?" He asked casually.

"I'm good thanks, you?" Arthur stood up and headed towards the door.

"Not too bad, where are you going?" He asked his son.

"Uh, I just…I'm phoning Gwen."

"I didn't mean now, Arthur." Merlin said.

"Why not? No time like the present, I'll be right back." Arthur promised.

"How was the party?" Uther asked him as he headed down the hallway.

"Good, talked to Gwen a lot. Merlin got himself drugged and felt up…twice." He said as he headed upstairs to find his phone.

Uther and Merlin were silent until Uther moved to stand near Merlin, resting on the worktop. "What did you do?" He asked quietly.

"Me? I didn't do anything, Oswald slipped something into my drink…twice." He shrugged and smiled weakly.

"What did they do?" He looked at Merlin now, and there was something burning in his eyes.

"Why is it such a big deal?" Merlin asked, frowning. "I thought that was just a one night thing." Merlin reminded him.

"Merlin, this is my house, what happens here is my responsibility, now tell me what happened." Uther said through gritted teeth.

Merlin smirked and leant into his ear. "Are you jealous?" Uther pulled Merlin off the stool then kicked it back so he could shove Merlin against the island.

"Yes, I am. Now, what did they do?" He was trying very hard not to shout, he didn't want Arthur coming in on this.

"You have no right to be jealous or angry, it was a one time thing"

"Yes, one time that you _begged_ me for, one time that your _virginity_ was taken in."

"And that's supposed to make me tell you?" Uther bent him back over the island.

"You are the most stupid boy I have ever met, can't you see that I don't want it to have been just one night?" Uther said, his voice rising. Merlin stared at him, eyes wide in disbelief.

**A/N: Oh my God, what will happen now? I feel like I'm writing for Eastenders now because of****that cliffhanger...has anyone be watching it? Sy's back! Yay! Sy's got the hair, Christian's got the muscles...excuse me while I go watch that video again...come here, Youtube.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Oh my God! It is chapter six! Run for your lives because I AM COMING OUT OF THE SCREEN TO EAT YOUR APPLES!...I'm hungry now...

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**Chapter 6**

Merlin stared at the older man, ignoring the ache in his spine from the awkward position, and the sting of Uther's nails in his forearm. "W-What?" He stuttered.

"This…I need-"

"Okay, so me and Gwen have a date…" Arthur trailed off as he took in the scene; his own father bending his best friend back over the worktop, gripping his arm and leaning in close, the stool on the floor beside them. Uther stepped back from the young man, letting his hands fall to his sides. "What's going on?" He asked warily, putting the phone on the worktop next to him.

Merlin stood silently, his eyes fixed on Uther, waiting. "Nothing."Uther answered finally.

Arthur clearly didn't believe him, "come on, Merlin, you said you were working at the restaurant tonight, yeah? I'll drive you home." He held his hand out to Merlin, his eyes never leaving his father.

"Oh, yeah, sure." Merlin started towards Arthur.

"No," Merlin stopped and turned to Uther, "I can take him; it's no trouble." Uther assured them. Arthur grabbed Merlin's arm and pulled him to stand next to him. He pulled the arm up so that he could inspect the crescent-shaped dents in his forearm before Merlin snatched it back, frowning.

"You've…just got back." Arthur turned his attention back to his father. "Rest, I'll take him. Come on, Merlin, let's get your things." Arthur held the door open for Merlin.

"You need to pack for university." Uther reminded his son as he ushered Merlin through the door.

"It can wait!" Arthur snapped, slamming the kitchen door closed.

Uther stared at the door while long, silent seconds ticked by. He finally moved and rested his elbows on the island, rubbing his temples, eyes and forehead with his fingertips.

Arthur waited by the bedroom door while Merlin collected his things in silence, watching him _very _carefully. It wasn't until they were in the car that Arthur finally spoke. "Seatbelt." He reminded Merlin. Merlin buckled his seatbelt and looked up to see Uther in the window of the front room, he looked to his right to see Arthur glaring at his father.

"Arthur-" Before Merlin could say anything, Arthur reversed out of the driveway at a ridiculous speed and sped down the road in his Mercedes. "Shit!" Merlin gripped seat with one hand, the door with the other, as they reached 75mph. "Arthur, slow down! You're going to get us killed!" Merlin shouted at his friend.

Arthur paid no attention continuing with the reckless driving, his only aim to get Merlin far away. Finally, he stopped, pulling over on a quiet road. "What the hell was that?" Merlin snapped, slowly releasing his grip.

"Merlin, what did my father do?" Arthur asked, ignoring Merlin's comment. Merlin stared at him, unsure of what to say.

"N-Nothi-"

"Don't give me that crap," he snatched Merlin's arm and pushed up the sleeve of his jacket. "Look at this! He did this, I want to know why!" Arthur gripped Merlin's arm in a way that told him he wasn't letting go until he found out.

"It was…He wanted to know who drugged me, he didn't want anything left in the house in case something happened." He lied. Arthur stared at him, inspecting his eyes.

"Then why did he do this?" He asked, shaking Merlin's arm.

"He was worried someone would find drugs in his house and he would get arrested. He didn't want to leave you alone. He was worried."

That doesn't give him the right to…I'll talk to him, make sure he never leaves a mark on you again." Arthur promised. "I'm sorry, Merlin."

"It's okay, wasn't your fault." Merlin shrugged.

"You'd tell me if it was something more, yeah?" Merlin nodded, grinning at his friend. "Good, won't have someone hurting my little brother, Hunith'd never forgive me." Arthur ruffled Merlin's hair fondly. "Right, let's get you home before you're late for work." And they were on their way again, thankfully at a more reasonable speed this time

"Arthur!" Hunith greeted happily when she opened the door.

"Hi, Mum," Arthur hugged Hunith, picking her up so she was hovering a foot off the ground, then put her back down again, "how are you?" he asked.

"I'm very well, thank you. I swear you get stronger every time I see you." She commented and Arthur shrugged modestly.

"Don't worry, it'll happen to Merlin one day." Arthur held Merlin's wrists and shook them, waving his arms up and down. "Well, maybe." Merlin stuck his tongue out at the blonde like the adult he was.

Hunith laughed at the boys. "How was work today, Mum?" Merlin asked as he dropped his bag inside the door.

"Same old, same old." Hunith shrugged. "Good party?"

"Uh…I'll let Merlin tell you about that. Sorry, Hunith, I've got to go, my Dad just got back and I haven't had a chance to talk to him properly yet because of this stick insect." Arthur shoved his hand in Merlin's face who, in return, licked his palm. "Ugh! Merlin!" Arthur wiped his hand on Merlin's sleeve.

"Arthur!" Merlin complained.

"It's your slobber, have it back. Right, I'll see you soon, Mum." He kissed Hunith's forehead lovingly. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

"I will." Hunith promised. "See you, Arthur."

"Bye, Merlin." Arthur gave Merlin a quick hug a messed up his hair. "Don't be late for work."

"Yeah, yeah…What time is it, Mum?" Merlin asked suddenly, making both Hunith and Arthur laugh.

"Bye!" Arthur called, waving as he walked back up the lane to where he left his car. "Now then, father…" He thought to himself as he started the ignition.

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**A/N: Okay, please review, I'm going to go get an apple.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Wow, I've written a chapter that's ages away and know what I'm going to do for the last chapter.

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**Chapter 7**

"Merlin, we've got a couple in at table six, could you take care of them, Sweetie?" Sophia asked as she took an armful of plates back into the kitchen.

"Yeah, sure." Merlin picked up his notepad and headed over to the table. "Good evening, would you like– Freya!" Merlin greeted happily.

"Hey Merlin, this is Lance." Merlin looked across the table to a handsome dark haired man who gave him a shy wave.

"Hi, drinks?" Lance ordered red wine while Freya ordered Coke. "Okay, I'll be right back. Enjoy your evening."

"So that's Merlin…" Lance mused.

"Yeah, he's adorable isn't he?" Freya asked as she picked up a breadstick.

"Yeah, and he's really quite…hmm…" Freya raised an eyebrow at her friend.

"Oi, Lance," She motioned for him to lean in and glanced round to the now empty tables around them – thankfully the large party was just leaving as they sat down. Lance leaned across the table to listen to her whispers. "He's a virgin, so you've got to-"

"Aww!" He looked back to where Merlin had left to and Freya hit his arm.

"Listen! So you've got to be really lovely and patient with him." She told him. Lance leaned back and frowned at her.

"Frey, you know that I would never rush anything and I've never made anyone do anything, okay? I'm a perfect gentleman." He protested to her accusations.

"I know," Freya rested a hand on his cheek. "I know, I'm just saying that if I find out you're not, you'll beg me for death." She said smiling sweetly at the man.

Merlin returned with their drinks and Freya took her hand away, stroking her hair awkwardly. "Here you are, My Love," he placed Freya's drink down in front of her, the corner of a small piece of paper visible under the glass. "Sir," he smiled sweetly at Lance as he handed him his drink. Lance nodded and thanked him, returning his smile.

As Merlin turned to walk away, he purposefully looked at Freya then down at her glass. She followed his gaze and spotted the paper. Looking back up, she nodded at him. Merlin turned away and headed towards another table to collect their plates.

"What was that about?" Lance asked after taking a sip of his wine. Freya smirked and took out the folded piece of paper, holding in up in front of her.

"This, and I hope you're not driving tonight." She motioned towards the glass of wine and Lance made a grab for the note. "Ah, ah. Mine." She held the note close to her chest.

"Fine, and no, because you don't like going on my bike so we'll be taking the bus back tonight." Lance rolled his eyes at his friend and she kicked him under the table gently.

"There are no seatbelts!" She reasoned. Lance just laughed and had some more of his drink. Returning her attention to the note, Freya unfolded the paper, paused, then giggled.

"What does it say?" Lance asked. Freya looked round for the skinny waiter and, upon not seeing his bony backside, handed the note to Lance.

"He's cute." Lance read out loud and smiled shyly to his friend.

"I told you he'd like you." Lance's smile slowly grew into a grin.

"Have you got a pen?" He asked.

Merlin returned a few minutes later to take their orders. He smiled politely and just before he turned to leave, he took the note Freya had left on the edge of the table. "Enjoy your evening." He said as he walked away.

"God, he's gorgeous." Lance commented, staring at the pale man's slim backside.

"Yeah, he is." Freya agreed, smiling fondly to Merlin's retreating form. She looked back to Lance and frowned. "Hey, eyes off the ass, Arthur's permission is needed for that." Lance chuckled, shaking his head at his friend. "I'm serious, you touch his boy and he will kill you."

Merlin gave the chef the couple's order. "Prioritising, Merlin?" Will asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Come on, Will, please? There are about four tables full our there, only two of them have ordered and one's about to leave. Could you please…" He gestured to the paper and Will rolled his eyes.

"Fine, have you thought about my offer, by the way, Merlin?" Will asked as he made on pan sizzle violently, glancing back to the paper.

"I already told you, I don't make enough to be able to pay you rent." Merlin reminded him.

"That doesn't matter, I've already bought the flat anyway." He smirked at Merlin. "I have a rich dad, remember?"

Merlin scowled suddenly and threw his hands in the air then let them drop back to his sides. "What is it with rich dads everywhere and mine's-"

"Oh, Merlin, no…I didn't mean it like that, mate." Will apologised quickly, pausing in gathering his ingredients. "I only meant-"

"Got you." Merlin grinned cheekily at the scary man who was glaring and reaching for a spatula.

"Out of my kitchen, now! Go, your humour will kill me! That or your clumsiness will!" He chased Merlin out with a spatula, the door swinging behind him.

"By the way," he heard through the door, as he returned to his work. "I owe you. And I'm considering your offer." He smiled to himself before returning to his cooking.

Merlin stood by the kitchen door and opened up the note, finding a new message below his original: _thanks, you too, call me_. He turned the small piece of paper to find a mobile number on the back. He looked up across the restaurant and saw Lance wink at him and Freya wave at him, giving him a thumbs-up.

He grinned his usual goofy grin and blushed, so he wasn't with Freya…

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**A/N: And so a new character is introduced that is a potential threat to Merlin and Uther's...thing...fling whatever it is. So...PLEASE REVIEW MY LOVELIES! And thank you for the apples last time, those who said I could have them!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: FIELD TRIP!

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**Chapter 8**

"_What you've got boy, is hard to find! I think about it all the time!_" Merlin sang, very loudly, as he vacuumed the landing, earphones jammed in his ears.

"Merlin!" Hunith called, holding her son's phone. He didn't hear. "Merlin!" She tried again, touching his back.

"Eep!" He jelled, jumping and swivelling round, knocking the vacuum over. "Mother!" He yelled as he pulled out his earphones with one hand, while the other rested on his heart. He switched off the vacuum as he picked it up.

"Sorry, your phone's ringing." She told him, handing him the singing devise.

"Thanks."

"I worry about you, sometimes, baby." She touched his cheek gently before heading back downstairs.

Merlin looked at the phone; no name was on the screen, just the number. He pressed accept warily, "hello?" There was a silence on the other end. "Is anybody there?"

"I can't stop thinking about you, and believe m, I've tried." Merlin recognised the voice straight away and headed into his bedroom, closing the door quietly behind him before continuing the conversation.

"How did you get this number?" He asked.

"Arthur's phone." Uther answered casually.

"Yes, because it's completely normal to search through your son's phone for his best friends number after telling that friend that you want to sleep with him!" Merlin whispered furiously. He sighed heavily and there was a silence.

"Merlin, I'm going to Camelot this weekend-"

"Camelot?" Merlin interrupted.

"Yeah, Camelot House, I own the flat on the top floor. I'm going there this weekend, I've been working a lot lately, you see, need to relax."

"That's very interesting, why are you telling me?" Merlin asked, sitting down on his bed.

"I wanted to know if you wanted to come with me, I'll make you a nice dinner…"

"You cook?" Merlin asked.

"No, I let Art handle t all because its always a good idea to leave him near to knives and the flames." Merlin laughed. "So…what do you say?"

Merlin looked down upon the grand houses from the large window, stretching from knee-height up to the high ceiling. Strong arms wrapped around him and pulled him back against a broad chest. "What do you think?" Uther whispered, kissing his neck.

"We're so high up, those houses look so small." Uther chuckled. His apartment was spread over the whole of the top floor of the five story building. There was the master bedroom with a view of the park and an en-suit with a large Jacuzzi. The second bedroom was slightly smaller and there was a separate bathroom for it.

The kitchen was in the centre and had a low ceiling, as did the dining room. Beyond these two rooms there was the large lounge, with a high ceiling like the bedrooms. There were two large windows at the front, and at the left there were French doors leading out onto a balcony. Next to the French doors was a spiral staircase leading up to a study with hundreds of books, a small sofa and a desk, all of which was above the kitchen.

Across from Camelot House was a posh hotel called 'Hotel Du Vin', and when Merlin had commented on it, Uther had told him "No more 'vin' for you; the last time you had anything like 'vin' you were felt up by random boys." And turned him away from the window to look at the park.

"How did you convince your mum?" Uther asked.

"She thinks I'm at Will's, like a tester weekend before I move in. He'll cover for me if she calls. I owe him _so _many massages." Merlin laughed.

"Massages?" Uther asked, a pang of jealousy sparking deep within him at the thought of Merlin's hands on someone else's body.

"Yeah, he says I've got magic fingers." Merlin boasted, then dropped his hand to palm Uther through his trousers. "I should show you sometime." Uther groaned and lifted Merlin's hand to his face, remembering the last time he had hold of the slim limb. He pressed his lips to the skin before letting go.

"I'm sorry about what I said last time I saw you." Uther said, tightening his grip on Merlin's waist and resting his chin on Merlin's shoulder, focusing on the faint reflection of Merlin's eyes. "I had no right to act like that. Do you forgive me?"

Merlin smiled at him and blinked slowly. "For now." He answered cheekily. Uther smiled back and lifted his head to nibble on Merlin's ear. "Mmm…How do we close these curtains I won't be able to reach…"

"No, that's at least two and a half Merlins high." Uther agreed. "How about this," He reached to the side of the window and pulled on a string, drawing the curtains closed. "There, magic for Merlin." He turned Merlin round and kissed him passionately, threading his hands through his raven hair.

Merlin moaned happily and let Uther push him back against the wall, one hand on the older man's waist and the other on his arm. He hooked his leg on Uther's hip and pulled their pelvises together, groaning at the contact.

Uther moaned and slowed the kiss, holding Merlin's hand to kiss his wrist, where his nails had dug into the boy's arm only a week ago. Merlin watched through half lidded eyes as Uther lowered his leg from his hip and stepped back.

"Wh…What are you doing?" Merlin asked. Uther kissed him gently.

"Not yet, it's too early." He told him. "Come on, let's go lie out in the sun for a while, yeah?"

Uther rubbed the lotion on to Merlin's shoulders slowly, leaning in close and taking in all that Merlin was. If anyone were to see them on Uther's balcony, they would see a man helping his son put on lotion. Nothing more.

"You're skin is so soft, so flawless."Uther whispered, Merlin almost blushed at the words. "Every inch." He continued. "A blank canvas, just waiting…" He kissed Merlin's shoulder quickly then lay back to bask in the sun's warmth.

"So have you thought about University any more?" Uther asked as though he had not just been thinking about touching every inch of the younger man's body, mapping out and marking it as his.

"No, my mum wouldn't be able to afford it and I don't know what I'd study or where I'd go, so I'll just see where life takes me." Merlin answered, settling back and closing his eyes.

"Art?" Uther asked.

"Money." Merlin answered.

"I could…you know give you the money." Uther suggested. Merlin cracked an eye open and smiled at the man.

"You really are sounding like a sugar daddy now." Uther chuckled. "Daddy wanna spank me?" Merlin asked seductively, Uther raised an eyebrow at him. "That's extra." Merlin told him, closing his eye and smiling. Uther laughed at the raven haired man.

Uther reached out to take Merlin's hand, making him look at him curiously. "You know I wouldn't ever actually hurt you." He told him sincerely. "Unless I cook you something you're allergic to." He added, winking at the man, then thought suddenly, "you're not actually allergic to anything, are you?"

"Tomatoes." Merlin said, shrugging.

"Who cares about tomatoes?" Uther lay back against his chair and closed his eyes, relaxing in the sun. "If I fall asleep, wake me when you get hungry."

"You sound so old." Merlin pointed out.

"I'm tired; it's been a long, _long_ week."

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**A/N: Don't worry, my lovely, patient, wonderful readers, the sexy sexy will come soon, next chapter, I promise! **


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hello! Sorry it took so long, lately I've been too excited about my holiday to write anything. Oh well, I'm off in about an hour so I need to RUSH! So read and...wait you don't need to rush, take your time, get a coffee or hot chocolate and enjoy the sex. :)  
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**Chapter 9**

Merlin and Uther were sitting on the sofa after dinner, Uther's arm around Merlin and Merlin leaning into the older man, head resting on his shoulder.

Merlin had woken him earlier, poking his nose and announcing that he was hungry, demanding food. When he just grumbled and swatted at Merlin's hand, Merlin had leant forward and licked a stripe up his cheek before running back into the apartment, laughing childishly as Uther chased him.

"Uther?" Merlin began, not looking away from the TV screen. "What are we doing?" Now he turned to the older man.

"What do you mean?" Uther looked down to the dark haired man.

"What is this?" Merlin gestured between them.

"It's umm…just sex…and stuff." Uther said, unsurely.

"Oh." Merlin said dumbly. "Okay." He turned his attention back to the TV.

"Merlin," When Merlin turned to the older man, he was met by hungry lips and a muscled form pushing him back to lie across the sofa. He wrapped his arms around Uther's neck and allowed him to deepen the kiss.

Uther broke the kiss and took Merlin's arms from around his neck. "Wait right here," he whispered, laying a finger on Merlin's nose. "I'll be back in a minute." He stood and headed to the bedroom.

Merlin watched until he turned the corner of the hallway, then quickly took off his shirt and socks, then lay back and ran a hand through his hair, messing it up slightly.

"I thought I told you not to move," Uther said slowly as he walked towards Merlin.

"Well, I've never been one for following orders." Merlin smirked, stretching out on the sofa. He watched Uther's eyes follow the movement, tongue flicking out to lick dry lips. He managed to pull his focus back to Merlin's face and held his hand out to Merlin.

"Come on." It wasn't a command, more a suggestion, but Merlin didn't argue. Taking the older man's hand2, he was led to the master bedroom. Uther stepped aside to let Merlin go in first. Pushing the door open, Merlin stepped inside and froze at the sight.

Candles were lit around the room, rose petals were scattered on the bed and romantic music was playing in the background. "What is this?" Uther chuckled and wrapped an arm around the younger man's waist, kissing his neck.

"This is how your first time should have been," he told him in a low voice.

"Why? What was wrong with the real one?" Merlin asked, leaning back against him and reaching a hand back to the back of Uther's head.

"It wasn't this." Uther stepped around Merlin and led him towards the bed. He kissed Merlin as he gently lowered him onto the large bed, dropping his head to kiss and nip at his neck. Merlin stroked his hand down Uther's naked back, then back up to his hair.

Uther worked his way down Merlin's body while unzipping his shorts and pulling them, along with his boxers, down to reveal more milky white skin, following with his tongue and lips, nipping at the sensitive skin just inside Merlin's hipbones making Merlin gasp and pant, bucking his hips as Uther reached down to remove his own shorts.

When he had, he stood, pulling Merlin to stand as well and kissed him, pulling his body against his own as he reached past him to pull the covers back. Merlin returned the kiss hungrily, even as he was pushed back on the bed, which was definitely something different since he had been so unsure and hesitant as a virgin, though not much time had past since then.

"Under the covers?" Merlin asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Under the covers," Uther repeated with a nod, pulling the covers up to his waist and climbing on top of Merlin again. He leant down to kiss him and stroked a hand down his body, his lips following after it slowly, slipping beneath the duvet. He dipped his tongue into Merlin's navel as he reached into to the bedside table and pulled out the lube before moving lower still and nipping at the sensitive skin just inside his hipbone making Merlin moan and buck his hips.

Uther slicked up his fingers and moved so he could spread Merlin's legs. He pressed a finger against the puckered ring and let it slip in easily. "Oh," Uther said, surprised and straightened slightly and Merlin lifted the duvet to look down at Uther.

"What?" He asked, hoping there was nothing…wrong with…anything.

"Nothing it's just… that was very easy, should I not be doing this? Do you have someone-"

"No, no, it's not that…" Merlin blushed and looked away. "Just forget it and carry on, yeah?" He dropped the covers again and Uther crawled back up his body.

"Merlin, you're really loose…what-"

"I have fingers too, you know!" Merlin shouted suddenly, then flushed and closed his eyes. Uther began moving the finger and leant in close to his ear.

"Did you think of me?" He whispered, making Merlin shiver. He added another finger, slightly happier at the resistance here. "Merlin, you're so wonderful, so sexy." Merlin gasped as Uther crooked his fingers. He added another finger and kissed Merlin's shoulder. "Absolutely gorgeous." He stroked down Merlin's torso and held his hips, thrusting his fingers gently.

"Ah, Uther…" Merlin breathed, bucking his hips.

"Ready?" Merlin nodded and Uther removed his fingers. "Remember, relax." Merlin nodded, urging Uther to hurry up, but Uther took his time, sliding in slowly as Merlin moaned. Uther watched him through hooded eyes as his body arched off the bed. Merlin whimpered when Uther stayed still for too long. "Slowly, okay?"

Uther kissed Merlin tenderly as he moved, stroking his thumbs over his hardened nipples and his hands over his body, resting them on his hips every so often. He was hitting that spot inside Merlin again and kissing his neck, biting just below his collar bone and stroking a hand up his thigh, getting all the spots that Merlin didn't even know had existed on his body.

He managed to hold off his orgasm for longer this time and came only in twenty-two thrusts before Uther, covering their stomachs in sticky ribbons. After, Uther kissed Merlin's lips tenderly, his neck, chest, stomach, thighs, before cleaning away Merlin's seed and lying next to the younger man.

"Is all sex this good or are you some kind of genius?" Merlin asked as he leant into Uther, resting his head on his broad chest. Uther chuckled and stroked a hand through Merlin's hair, the other moving lower to his arse, spreading his cheeks and pushing a finger against his quivering hole making him gasp and push back against the finger, biting his lip to stifle a moan.

"I'll let you judge that in later life." Uther said, smiling as he watched the man press further and further back onto his finger. "You really are insatiable, I can't keep up with you." He pushed his finger in completely and Merlin ground forward against his leg, pushing his erection into his thigh. "How was it?" Uther asked absentmindedly.

"Didn't hurt as much," Merlin said, rocking against the finger inside him.

"No, thanks to your-" Merlin cut him off with a loud moan as the finger pushed against his prostate. "Hmm, maybe I'll have to pop into _Anne Summers_, buy you a little present." Uther suggested and Merlin flushed again. "Right then," he withdrew his finger, wiping it on the covers before wrapping his arm around Merlin's waist. "Time for sleep."

"What, but Uther I'm still…" He rubbed himself against Uther's leg.

"Meh, you're young, it'll probably still be there tomorrow," Uther said tiredly, closing his eyes.

"So you're just going to leave me like this? I thought you would take care of me." Uther cracked one eye open and looked down to see Merlin pouting and using puppy-dog-eyes. He growled and pushed Merlin off him, throwing back the covers causing Merlin to gasp at the cold and try to cover himself back up.

Uther uncurled his limbs again and descended on Merlin's erection, sucking him to completion. It was like nothing Merlin had ever felt before, it was so hot, so wet and God when he sucked… It felt incredible, not as good as Uther being _inside_ of him, but enough to get him off quickly.

When he came, Uther swallowed it all easily, licking him clean before lying back next to him. "Better?" He asked, pulling the covers up over the bare skin.

"Much, thank you." Merlin said weakly, unable to take his eyes off Uther's mouth.

"So can we go to sleep now?" Uther asked and Merlin nodded. "And you don't have to thank me, Merlin." He told the young man as pulled him to lie against him, head on his chest, a leg thrown over and resting between his. "I just expect you to return the favour one day."

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**A/N: N o spanking, sorry guys. :( Please review oh lovely people! :D**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hi again! Thank you all for your patience! I love you!**

**Enjoy**

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**Chapter 10**

Uther woke up and stretched his arms above him then dropped them onto the bed, searching around him for a warm, slender body, but found a cold, empty bed around him. For one horrible moment he thought that it had all just been a dream, a ridiculous dream about a hidden longing for his son's best friend; he wondered if Merlin was still a virgin. Then for another he thought it had been true and Merlin had left him alone.

He jumped out of the bed, grabbing for his dressing gown as he reached the door, but stopping when he didn't feel the soft material beneath his fingers. He looked back and saw that it was gone. "Mer…" He almost laughed with relief but instead merely smiled fondly at the memories of the boy's adoring eyes and walked to the wardrobe, pulling some clothes on – a pair of boxers and a t-shirt; the summer morning was much too warm for anything more – and walked through the apartment, looking for his young lover.

He found Merlin out on the balcony, wrapped up in his dressing gown, leaning on the old stone wall with the flaking white paint, and looking out over the town while sipping a cup of coffee. Uther felt a brief rush of panic at the thought of Merlin being seen by anyone that would recognise their actions as those of a secret affair before pushing it away; after all, he was Uther Pendragon.

Uther stepped out into the fresh morning air and crept up to Merlin, wrapping his arms around his waist. "Morning." Merlin didn't even jump, just leaned into him, both completely relaxed in the other's presence, familiar already..

"Morning, babe." Merlin greeted, reaching one arm back to Uther's head, pulling him forwards for a kiss.

"Babe?" Uther chuckled, amused at the younger man's choice of words. "I don't think you can call me that."

"Well, I'm not calling you Daddy, that just sounds weird and like you really should be paying me." Merlin broke away and headed back into the flat. "You alright with eggs and bacon for breakfast?" He asked, Uther of course wasn't listening though; he was busy watching the way Merlin's hips swayed as he walked.

Merlin turned to look back at Uther when he didn't get an answer. Uther shook himself and looked at Merlin's face, following him into the kitchen. "What?"

Merlin laughed and opened the fridge, putting the mug on the worktop at the same time. "I said 'eggs and bacon for breakfast', that alright?" He asked again, pulling out said items and putting them on the worktop.

"Oh yes, yes, I'll-"

"You'll go and sit and relax, I'll make breakfast." Uther kissed Merlin briefly, unable to help it with the domestic atmosphere surrounding them.

"You know, this means morning sex," he whispered in Merlin's ear making Merlin shiver and swallow thickly.

"Ooh! I'll make sure it's fantastic then," Merlin said excitedly, turning to start cooking.

"As will I." Uther agreed cheekily.

It was a relatively relaxed morning; breakfast ("How do you make it taste like this?" "With a mother like mine, I have to know how to cook, and my friend's a professional chef, it's easy to learn with him around."), morning sex in the shower (Merlin had liked that – the slippery-slide of his skin against the tiles, the echoing moans) that had taken up most of the morning and tired them out. So in an attempt to regain some energy for the evening, they spent the afternoon sat out on the balcony, Merlin sat across his chair with his legs over Uther's legs, his sketchbook open in front of him, looking out over the wall ever half a second. Uther was watching him closely as he scribbled, glad of the break from work that gave him the time to do so. As he watched, he made a mental plan of all the things he would have to do when he was back home.

"Do they know?" Uther asked, stroking Merlin's calf.

"Do who know what?" Merlin asked, not looking away from his work.

"Do the universities, art publishers know can do this," Uther finished. Merlin looked at Uther, then back to his sketch, as far as he could tell it was just some scribbles; nothing compared to Vincent Van Gogh or Leonardo Da Vinci.

"I really don't think they'd care about an amateurs work," Merlin said, going back to drawing. Uther looked at the picture, the delicate fingers of the knights wrapped around their swords as they raised them high above their heads before the battle. He could almost hear the battle cries as he saw how the horses reared and charged, the knights' capes billowing.

"That's a terrible thing to say." Merlin scoffed. "It is for three reasons; one, everyone was an amateur once. Two, they're there to teach you. And three, this," Uther tapped the book, Merlin shooed his hand away, whining quietly before returning to his work, "is amazing and it's selfish of you to want to keep this talent from everyone." Merlin shrugged, still not willing to believe that anyone would be interested in his work, leaving the argument unresolved. Uther didn't look away.

"You're still watching me, aren't you?" Merlin asked, not looking up.

"You like knights." Uther stated bluntly, remembering the pictures in Merlin's sketchbook.

"Knights, kings, queens, dragons, castles. It's kind of…" He trailed off and Uther waited for him to continue, prompting him with a gentle 'go on,' "it's sort of an escape, even if there's nothing to escape from it's just…I can draw and follow the picture. I can be miles away and centuries ago, nobody asking anything of me. Free." He looked away from his picture to Uther. "Does that make sense?"

"Yes," Uther said honestly, "complete sense. It sounds similar to why I come up here. It's just a place to get away, where you have no responsibilities and can just…be," he finished, letting his head drop back and his eyes fall closed. Merlin smiled and nodded in agreement.

"You can just relax, sometimes other things can help you…" Merlin hinted, Uther opened one eye and studied him before speaking.

"Magic hands?" he said simply, smirking at Merlin. Merlin laughed, putting down his pencil and pad before climbing into Uther's lap. Uther's arms wrapped around his waist instinctively, easily able to hold Merlin's slim body close. He felt his cock twitch as Merlin rubbed his own against it.

"Oh yes, I'm a little miracle worker, should we test it?" Merlin kissed Uther slowly, giving their tongues time to meet and stroke against one another before he stood, grabbing Uther's hands and leading him into the flat, pushing his back on the sofa.

Merlin straddled him again and pulled up Uther's shirt, throwing it to the floor. He kissed Uther again, hands moving to rub his broad shoulders, feeling the knots and bumps as he did so. Uther tried to do the same to Merlin but as his hand brushed the hem of his shirt to lift it, he was expertly moved down onto the sofa so he lay on his front and sat on his thighs.

"What was all that if I can't touch you now?" Uther asked, looking over his shoulder at Merlin.

"It gives you something to focus on, and maybe if you're not as tense, you'll recover quicker and we can have more sex tonight. Which seems logical when you think about it since we are going home tomorrow." Merlin pointed out, half cheeky, half serious.

"So you're stocking up on sex?" Uther asked, an amused smile tugging at his lips as Merlin shrugged.

"That's the idea." Uther let his head fall onto his folded arms.

"I've created a monster." He said, laughing.

"You love it really; having a hot young toy to play with, who's always ready for you, and I mean _always_. A weekend of sex with an experienced lover should definitely satisfy me for two to three weeks." Uther said nothing, unsure of whether Merlin was joking or not. "Now close your eyes and think of England while I crack your spine until you relax." Uther prayed that one was a joke.

Apparently it was as soon, Uther was groaning and moaning in appreciation as Merlin rubbed his shoulders and back, working out all the knots and the tension with circling thumbs and the heavy heel of his hand.

"Oh, Merlin, that's…oh…" he let out a long moan as he felt the worry and stress of another assignment release and disappear.

"I expect you to be able to go for hours after this, without complaining 'oh I'm an old man and my back hurts!'" Uther swatted at Merlin's legs. Merlin smiled, proud that he managed to get a rise out of the man, even when he seemed to be slipping in and out of unconsciousness.

"I never said that, and I have never spoken in that _voice_." He let out a long sigh as Merlin continued to work. "I'll need to train your hands properly, Merlin, teach you the best ways to touch, how to press, and where. It's a waste of talented hands."

Merlin laughed in response, "I do like to learn, and I assume you would be a willing test subject?" Merlin asked cheekily.

Uther groaned in pleasure, "if it's anything like this, very willing."

And that was basically their day; they curled up on the couch – minus the gluey blanket this time – and watched a sci-fi movie that they both got bored of quickly and they ended up kissing and touching for the most part, ate Merlin's masterpiece tuna bake – while chatting across the table, Merlin nudging his foot against Uther's when one of them said something particularly flirty – which was completely tomato-free. ("What do you do at the restaurant?" Uther had asked.

"Well, if I'm honest, I don't tend to poke at people's food or have a quick nibble of it before I give it to them, so I'm usually safe on the allergy front." He had responded slightly sarcastically.) After which they had _gone to bed early_, Uther having taught Merlin, after years of experience himself, how to last much, much longer. And Merlin was now able to last longer and still had an incredible recovery time and was usually back on Uther in only a couple of minutes, trying to get him up again.

Oh and it was good, Merlin's hands held Uther tightly as he pulled on his cock, happy with the sounds Uther was making when he asked, "Am I doing it right?" and Uther had thrust into Merlin faster, making the younger man's breath hitch and moan low and needy when Uther hit his prostate.

Afterwards, they were lay in the bed, Uther kissing Merlin's neck and chest as he basked in the afterglow. For once, Merlin was the one holding them up, but that had more to do with his terrible fitness, rather than the inability to get it up. "Ready?" He asked between kisses and Merlin was about to reply when Abba's _Does Your Mother Know?_ played loudly through the room and Merlin lifted his head, listening closely as he tried to locate the source.

"What is that?" Uther asked, looking around, wondering which electronic devise was taunting them.

"My phone, well, mum's ringtone, actually," Merlin said as he climbed out of the bed, crawling over Uther on the way and Uther trailed his hands down Merlin's thigh.

"We really need to sort out your ringtones," he joked before realising Merlin was _actually looking_ for his phone. "Wait, you're going to answer it?" Uther asked, sitting up, wondering how Merlin was going to talk to his mother casually at a time like this.

"If I don't, Mum will think I'm dead or something," Merlin told him as he pulled his phone out of his travel bag. "Please, just stay quiet, okay?" Uther held his hands up in surrender as Merlin sat on the bed and answered the call. "Hi, mum," he greeted as casually as he could while sitting with Uther lay behind him. "Yeah, yeah, everything's fine," he looked round suspiciously when he felt the mattress shift. Uther sat behind Merlin, a leg on either side of him, and wrapped his arms around his waist. "Yeah, I'll be home sometime to-_mo r_-row," Merlin's voice rose in pitch when Uther's hand moved lower and he began kissing his neck, unable to resist the milky, soft, skin, and the way he reacted to the lightest touch. He only had one more day alone with Merlin before they had to go home to their jobs and their families, he wanted to make the most of it and he was being interrupted.

Uther Pendragon did not like being interrupted when going after what he wants.

Merlin grabbed his wrist quickly, "No, I'm fine, mum. I just…got a shiver up my spine, that's all."

"Merlin's got to go now." Uther whispered in his ear, wanting Merlin all to himself again. Merlin gulped and nodded, the grip on Uther's wrist loosening as he opened his legs slowly.

"Mum, sorry, I've got to go now. I'll see you tomorrow." He hung up quickly and threw his phone aside before allowing himself to be pinned to the bed again, giggling and carefree as the outside world was shut out with a push of a button.

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**A/N: Aw, they're so silly! ^_^  
Someone tell me I'm not the only one who has to set the background to dark to read things otherwise it hurts. Please tell me I'm not just a weirdo with eyes that melt :S**


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I thought this was already up. I put it on LJ and thought I'd done it on here too, but apparently not.**

**...**

**Sorry.**

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**Chapter 11**

Uther was the first to wake on the final morning to the piercing sound of his mobile ringing. He reached over Merlin and grabbed the phone off the night, heaving a great sigh at the name displayed. "On my bloody day off," he mumbled to himself, rejecting the call. He dropped it back on the nightstand and snuggled back under the duvet, trying his best not to disturb Merlin with the movement.

Just as he was drifting off—a hand carding through Merlin's hair almost unconsciously; the warmth of his lithe body pressed against him, drawing him back to unconsciousness—his phone rang again, this time disturbing Merlin and causing him to release a whine when Uther shifted him to lean across for his phone again.

With a quick kiss to Merlin's forehead, Uther slipped out from beneath the duvet, leaving Merlin alone in a bed that he looked far too small in. Giving his boy one last longing glance, he turned away and answered the call. "Geoffrey," he greeted in a whisper, grabbing his dressing gown as he slipped out the door and left Merlin to sleep. Merlin groaned sleepily and moved further to where Uther had lain. He settled in the warmth he had left behind and snuggled deeper into the duvet, mumbling in his sleep.

Some time later, Merlin woke with bleary eyes and looked around before stretching out across the bed, hearing his elbows and shoulders pop dully as he yawned. He lay awake with his arms beside him on the pillow—where they had fallen after a stretch— and his left hand resting on his temple. He seemed content to stare at the ceiling for a while as he considered his options for the final day in light of the previous days at Camelot House. Eventually, he pulled himself out of bed and grabbed his own dressing gown before heading off to find Uther.

"Of course…I _know_ that, but…I am _not_ working today and you know exactly why." Merlin heard Uther hiss as he walked through the kitchen into the lounge and looked out onto the balcony. "Do you have any idea what I had to go through with—" Uther cut himself off when he saw Merlin.

Merlin turned and looked up to the study above the kitchen, waving at Uther and pressing a finger to his lips upon seeing he was on the phone. He blew a quick kiss then returned to the kitchen to make himself a coffee.

"I can't talk now, Geoffrey, well, just tell _The Bearded Dragon,_ or whatever it is you call him, that I'm sorry, but I can't do that…I understand…Yes, as soon as I get back, but right now I am _not_ back…Geof—Goodbye, Geoffrey." He said tersely, finally and hung up the phone, rubbing his forehead.

Merlin made his way up the stairs with two coffees in hand. "Here you go," he said as he placed one down on the desk, sitting himself across Uther's lap instead of on the chair.

"Thank you, good morning," Uther said sweetly, cupping Merlin's face in his hands and pulling him in for a gentle kiss.

"Morning, you look knackered, Love," Merlin told Uther, stroking the back of his neck with one hand and lifting his mug to his mouth with the other.

"My boss is already giving me assignments—well, he secretary is, anyway," Uther grumbled, reaching for his coffee while keeping an arm around Merlin, his hand resting on his upper thigh. They drank their coffee in comfortable silence for a while, until Merlin put his mug down and took Uther's from him, placing it on the desk beside his own. He snuggled further into Uther, wrapping himself around him fully and burying his neck into the older man's neck.

"I can't believe we have to go home already," Merlin said regretfully, shaking his head slightly.

"Life likes to get in the way of people's enjoyment," Uther agreed, smiling to himself.

Life, however, did not get in the way of their enjoyment of the Jacuzzi that morning.

Uther had started the jets and climbed in to soak in the warm water in an attempt to ease the muscles he had used the previous night with Merlin. However, it wasn't long before said 'hot young toy' had climbed onto his lap demanding attention with roaming hands and whimpered pleas.

Uther cupped Merlin's jaw, fingers stroking just behind his ear, and groaned when Merlin turned his head and sucked Uther's thumb into his mouth, rolling his hips as he did so.

"What do you want?" Uther murmured, his free hand moving backwards from Merlin's hip, dipping down and stroking his cleft, narrowing until it was pushing at his hole. "Do you want to ride me? Is that what you want?" Merlin moaned and nodded, licking the tip of Uther's thumb. "Because I did all the work yesterday you know—" Merlin groaned in protest, though Uther ignored him, "so it's about time you did something." He smirked at Merlin's glare. "Come on, then," he took his hands away from Merlin to reach for some lube near the bath bombs and other various lotions and potions.

"God, that stuff is everywhere here," Merlin breathed, leaning towards Uther and lifting his hips to expose his arse better to Uther's hand.

"And aren't you happy about that?" Uther asked as he coated his fingers before stretching Merlin, relishing in every sound he made and spending more time than necessary to just to rub against the spot that made Merlin _squirm_.

"I've made such a minx of you, Merlin. What would people say if they saw you like this?" Uther murmured against the skin behind Merlin's ear.

"They'd say 'stop stalling, you prat!'" Uther chuckled at this, but indulged him, finally giving Merlin what he wanted. Merlin bit his lip, but moans still spilled past as he gripped Uther's shoulders.

"Merlin!" Hunith greeted her son happily as he entered their small home. "How was the flat? Was everything OK, you sounded ill on the phone," she said, touching his forehead.

"I'm fine, Mum," Merlin laughed. "The flat was perfect; Will said I could move in this weekend, the rent is pretty good, too."

"Oh, excellent. My little boy's all grown up!" Hunith cooed, wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him down slightly. "And soon you'll have a proper job, where you can earn lots of money and take me shopping and buy me an island." Merlin barked a laugh at this.

"What do you think I'll be doing to earn that much?" Merlin asked, then suddenly remembered the joke Uther had made just before Merlin climbed out of his car a few streets away.

"So, _hot young thing, _what does _daddy_ owe you?" he had asked, a smirk on his lips as he counted the notes out.

"You are the worst father figure in the world," Merlin had told him, "how is Arthur so normal when you're so…you?"

"Besides," Merlin continued, pulling away from his mother, and heading to the stairs to take his bag up to his room, "my job is just fine, Will's on his way to being the owner of the place, so I'll be his partner. We'll be like Ant and Dec…except without the Geordie accents," Merlin finished cheerfully, bounding up the stairs as his mother laughed.

He was throwing his clothes in the wash basket when his phone rang. He ran back to his room to find 'unknown number' lighting up his phone and smiled, thinking, _he just can't get enough_. He answered with a grin. "You need to stop calling me, someone's going to catch us," he said playfully.

"Merlin?" a voice asked curiously. A voice that was definitely _not_ Uther's. He'd spent enough time with it whispering into his ear to know the rises and falls of the gruff voice. This voice was lower, softer.

"Yes, who is this?" he asked tentatively.

"It's Lancelot," the voice said.

_Typical_, Merlin thought, _you wait nineteen years for a man and two come along at once._

**A/N: So...anyone pick up on the that thingy? They didn't on LJ, maybe you lot will, we'll have to see. Bye-bye!**

**Sorry.**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Superfast upload like whoa! Although, half of this chapter was already written, so maybe I cheated a little, but hey, the grass is always greener-no, wait, that's something different.**

**Anyway, ejoy! I'm going to go eat a biscuit.**

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**Chapter 12**

Merlin twiddled his thumbs nervously, picking dirt from beneath his nails as he leant on the balustrade of the old stone bridge, flitting his eyes between the ducks in the lake and the park around him, searching for a familiar figure.

_"So, do you want to meet up?"_

_"Yeah…yeah, that would be…good, very…good," Merlin answered awkwardly, biting his lip as he waited for Lance's reply._

_"Excellent," Lance said with a chuckle. "The park; mutual territory and all that," he joked._

_"Love and war," Merlin added, flicking his thumbnail nervously._

"Hey!" Lance called, picking up his pace to a jog when he saw Merlin. "Ooh, the good part of town," he joked, stopping just in front of Merlin and casting a glance over the large houses surrounding the park. "You look nice, I like your top," he said, nodding to the blue top Merlin was wearing, stroking his finger over the glittery, pattered design. "Very sparkly," he said dreamily, letting his finger linger over Merlin's flat stomach.

_"Arthur!" Merlin grabbed Arthur, pulling him through the door._

_"Merlin!" Arthur answered in the same tone. "What's wrong? You said it was urgent."_

_"Date, clothes, need them, help!" Merlin dragged Arthur upstairs. "What do I wear for Lance?" Merlin demanded, gesturing to the tops laid out on his bed._

_"Whoa! Wait a second; explain Lance!"_

_"No time, need clothes."_

_"This is your area; you're gay."_

_"And you're useless. How about I just turn up wearing nothing?" Arthur stared for a few seconds before arriving at a conclusion._

_"Right, you need clothes, let's find some."_

Lance cleared his thought, seeming to shake himself back to reality and took his hand away. "Shall we?" Lance gestured ahead of him and Merlin walked along with him, trying to think of something to say.

After the first few minutes of awkwardness, they spoke easily with each other; Lance slipping his arm through Merlin's when they became more comfortable so that he could walk more closely to him.

And that was that.

They walked around the park for hours, talking easily as they did so, until it was late and they were both hungry. Merlin held onto Lance tightly, resting his head between his shoulder blades as Lance drove them back to his apartment on his motorbike for a tea they both helped cook. That had been fun, although the kitchen was in quite a state by the time they'd finished.

They'd got on like a house on fire and another date soon followed at the cinema, then another at Albion, the restaurant Merlin and Will worked at. Will was definitely 'prioritising' when it came to their orders, and Merlin found that they had an audience when Lance chuckled and nodded, looking over Merlin's shoulder at the dozen staff stood next to the kitchen doors and spying through the serving hatch.

And although everything was amazing, and Lance was virtually the perfect guy, who offered Merlin his jacket, and held his hand when they walked and kissed his cheek sweetly when they said goodbye and said wonderful things to him in a beautiful voice, Merlin still went back to Camelot, falling into the bed with his best friend's father, and enjoying everything he did; every word, every touch, every kiss, every _fuck_.

But he knew it had to end.

"Uther, what are you doing?" Merlin asked between pants as Uther picked up his phone, the sheets around them crumpled and dampened with sweat. "If you're phoning someone, can't it wait till we're not otherwise occupied?" He groaned as Uther pulled out of him almost all the way.

"I'm not phoning anyone," Uther said honestly. Merlin moaned loudly as Uther thrust back in, throwing his head back and closing his eyes in bliss. He heard the snap of a camera amongst the moans and pants. He looked up to Uther, horrified.

"What did you just do?" Merlin asked.

"Call it an art project, you're far too fine a piece for me to ignore." He massaged Merlin's balls and pulled out again, thrusting back in and hitting his prostate. Another picture.

His heated body arching off the bed. Picture.

The way their bodies were joined. Picture.

His half lidded eyes as he looked up to the older man. Picture.

"If anyone sees any of these, I swear-Oh God!" Click. "Oh for fuck…" Merlin easily flipped them over, no objections from Uther and sat on Uther's pelvis, moaning loudly as Uther's cock was pushed in deeper than before.

"You want a picture, I'll give you a fucking picture, you old perv." He began riding Uther, his hands on Uther's chest, hearing the snap of the camera every so often along with Uther's chuckles and groans.

Merlin smirked mischievously at the camera and took hold of Uther's free hand, sucking in two of his fingers. The camera was still clicking as Uther spoke. "You're very brave, letting someone take pictures of you like this."

"You won't do anything with them," Merlin said casually as he guided Uther's hand down to his chest, letting his thumb rub over a nipple before letting Uther control the touches. "Mm, you've got too much to lose."

Uther hummed in agreement, trailing his hand lower to rest on Merlin's hip, guiding him, pulling him down just a little bit harder as the camera continued clicking. "You mustn't let just anyone do this, you know. You could end up in all sorts of trouble."

"Yes, daddy, I understand," Merlin fluttered his eyelashes before he laughed. Uther lowered the camera and reached up to caress Merlin's cheek.

"You're getting awfully fond of that address," Uther noted.

"Hmm, maybe, but I still prefer your name." Uther raised the camera again and lowered his other hand to play with Merlin's nipples. "Oh, Uther…" And then he didn't have to move, Uther held his hip still and thrust up into the tight heat.

"Oh, yes!" Merlin moaned, fisting his cock.

Click.

When they were lay together after; Merlin's head on Uther's chest, Uther looked through the pictures, groaning softly every so often when he saw a picture he _really liked_.

"You shouldn't have taken those," Merlin said, looking up at the phone.

"You weren't exactly objecting before," Uther pointed out, trailing his hand over the soft skin of Merlin's back.

"What if someone finds them?"

"They won't," Uther said casually. "No one else will see you like this." Merlin was silent. "My God, you're so sexy. Absolutely gorgeous." He stroked Merlin's hair fondly as he spoke.

"If anyone finds these, I swear I'll kill you. I work in a restaurant, I see a lot of different people every day, I don't want someone coming in and saying 'hey, you're the guy on the internet!'" Uther chuckled at his young lover. "It's not funny," Merlin complained weakly, turning his face further towards Uther's broad chest.

"Here now, Love, no one will ever see these but me and you," Uther promised, switching the phone off and setting it on the night stand. Merlin still didn't say anything. "Merlin, if it means that much, I'll delete the-"

"No," Merlin protested. "Don't, it's…it's not the pictures," Merlin said quietly.

"What is it?" Silence. "Merlin," Uther sat up, forcing Merlin to do the same, "what's wrong?" he asked seriously, stroking his thumb down Merlin's neck.

"It's…you said this was just sex, right?" Merlin asked, Uther nodded still looking confused. "Well, we can't do it anymore." Uther frowned.

"Alright," he said, taking his hands away from Merlin. "Do you mind if I ask why not?"

"I met this guy…Lance. And he's…he's good for me," Merlin told him nervously. "And I don't want to be doing this if I'm…with…him…" he finished awkwardly.

"You're with him right now? And we just-"

"No, no…we've been on a couple dates, that's all."

"But you want it to be something more?" Uther asked. Merlin shrugged and blushed. "Okay, then tonight is our last night." Merlin nodded shyly. "Okay," he stroked Merlin's cheek and pulled him in for a kiss.

It was tender, unhurried, as though they had all the time in the world. It felt good—no, it felt _perfect_. Merlin closed his eyes and allowed himself to be lost in the feeling of being stretched, of sparks of pleasure running through him and making him shudder, of Uther's hands on him – holding his arms, stroking his neck, resting on his chest over his heart, carding through his hair – and of how good Uther's words felt as he whispered them in his ear; all his sweet goodbyes.

Merlin wrapped his arms around the man and buried his face into his shoulder, tears filling his eyes as Uther thrust into him. It felt wrong to end this, to destroy it so soon after its creation. But that was what must be done; they had always known that.

Merlin tried to surreptitiously dry his tears; he didn't want to seem too attached to Uther when Uther only saw it as an end to a fun affair. Uther didn't' cry, he didn't sob, he didn't look at him regretfully, or as though he might hold him forever to stop him leaving, as Merlin felt he should. He simply held on, whispered praises, compliments and goodbyes in Merlin's ear, and continued to thrust.

What Merlin didn't know, however, was that Uther had had a lifetime of hiding his feelings, halting his tears before they fall, sealing his eyes off from the world with a cold glare.

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**A/N: I am covered in paint, why has it not gone away yet? It-Oh, hi. You've finished reading. How was it for you?**

**Please click the doobly-thingy-ma-squidge and leave a review to let me know, becuase I get oh so lonely and like company.**

**Otherwise I just end up talking to myself and my brother tells me to shut up.**

**Bye! -.0**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** **Oooh, look at me and all my updates! Aren't I good? Not really, I'm just putting off an essay that REALLY needs writing. I'll do it tomorrow. Promise. I just wanted to finish this. Now it's done, so I'll-Quit looking at me like that!**

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After that Merlin's life slotted into place. He moved out of his house and moved in with Will; he was in a regular, secure relationship with Lance; Arthur had met and approved of his boyfriend before kissing his girlfriend and heading off to uni; he was seeing Lance on a regular basis, snuggling up with him on the sofa, having romantic meals and making out like horny teens. And still, after all the times it had happened, Merlin still wasn't completely comfortable with riding on the back of Lance's bike and held on tightly to the man in front whenever he did, not that Lance seemed to mind very much.

And three months later, it was Merlin's 20th birthday and Merlin and his mother had rented out a function room at the Isle of the Blessed and invited the Pendragons, Gwen, Will, Lance, Freya, the football team (minus Oswald, of course) and some friends from school and sixth form.

Despite Merlin's protests, Morgana and Arthur insisted on turning up at his flat before the party, Arthur to ensure that the birthday drinking started as soon as possible, and Morgana to raid Merlin's wardrobe to find, as she said, 'something to set off his eyes'.

"Will?" Arthur called as he held a beer out to the man. The friendship between the two men had been a slow-burner, both immediately hating each other on the principle of 'my Merlin, piss off'. However, they had eventually warmed to each other and could tolerate being in the same room.

"Cheers," Will said, taking the bottle.

"Merlin?" Arthur offered another bottle to Merlin over the back of the sofa.

"No, thanks. I'm not drinking tonight, I want to keep a clear head," Merlin explained as Arthur raised the bottle to his own lips instead.

"What for?" Will asked.

"I want to remember tonight," Merlin answered with a shrug, making Arthur choke on his beer.

"What about tonight?" he demanded. Merlin flushed and started fiddling with the cushions of the sofa.

"You know, just…tonight. It should be a good night—" there was the sound of shuffling from Merlin's room and Morgana flung the door open, t-shirts and jeans thrown over her shoulders.

"Did I just hear that right?" she demanded.

"That Merlin wants to shag Lance?" Will asked bluntly.

"Will!" Merlin and Arthur shouted in unison.

"I never said that!" Merlin protested.

"Yeah, but you're so obvious, mate," Will pointed out.

"You should know better than to try and hide something from us," Arthur said with a smirk. And that statement alone terrified Merlin. _What if he knew everything already?_

"This calls for a completely different outfit!" Morgana announced, breaking into his thoughts. "Something sexy, that looks like you just threw it on so he can just rip it off," she said excitedly, disappearing back into Merlin's wardrobe.

"Will, you should probably make sure she isn't trying to dress him as a twink," Arthur suggested, setting the bottle down on the kitchen counter.

"Me? That's not my department, besides, it's Merlin's—" Arthur cut him off by clearing his throat, nodding pointedly to the bedroom door and mouthing 'fuck off'. "Oh, oh…alright, yeah I should do that," and he disappeared into the bedroom. "But if you touch my sister, I'll skin you."

Arthur walked slowly to Merlin and stood by the sofa, hand resting awkwardly on the arm. "Your flat is too small," he joked. "Your kitchen, dining room and lounge are all the same room."

"Actually, there is a distinct change in flooring between the lounge and the _kitchenette_," Merlin pointed out, smirking at Arthur's awkwardness. "Here, sit," Merlin patted the space next to him and, when Arthur sat, snuggled into his side and kissed his cheek. "You know there'll never be a man I love more that you, right?" Arthur nodded unsurely before looking and Merlin and smiling fondly.

"Yeah, I know that," he said sincerely, wrapping his arm around Merlin's waist.

"And you know I'm a big boy and can make my own decisions, right?" Arthur swallowed thickly and reluctantly nodded. "So you've just got to trust that I'm making the right decision, OK?"

"OK," Arthur kissed Merlin's temple long and hard. "But if you have the slightest doubt, even for just a second, you don't need to do it, alright?" Arthur cupped Merlin's jaw with his hand and rubbed his thumb over his cheekbone. "And remember it's never too late to stop it, even if he's already...you know…inside you," Arthur gestured awkwardly, speaking slowly, "you can still stop him."

"I know, Arthur," Merlin told him, nodding along.

"I trust him, but leave your phone somewhere you can grab it easily in case he still tries to…you know. Get away from him, grab your phone and call me, even if it only rings once, I'll be there." Merlin smiled and hugged him, resting his head on his chest.

"Thank you," he whispered, "I love you," he kissed Arthur's chin and they both laughed nervously.

"I'm serious, I'll bring the team round and everything," Arthur said, hugging Merlin back hard as he felt a lump form in his throat. "My little boy…" They both laughed shortly at this, but neither let go.

"It's such a beautiful moment!" they heard from the doorway and turned round to Morgana and Will stood in the doorway of Merlin's room, fanning their hands in front of their faces, wiping under their eyes and making exaggerated sobbing sounds.

Morgana stopped suddenly and stood up straight. "You," she said, pointing at Merlin, "get in here and get your clothes off," she ordered. "Hmm, a little preview for tonight, Arthur," Morgana joked as Merlin walked past her. "You, out!" she pushed Will out of the bedroom and slammed the door shut. "Now, then," they heard from the bedroom, "Mama wants to see some skin!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's have a big hand for the birthday boy!" Arthur announced with the DJ's microphone, gesturing to the door as Merlin walked in shyly with Morgana on his arm. There was a grand cheer as Merlin entered the room and he beamed at his party guests. "Merlin!" Arthur called, "would you like to say a few words?"

"Yeah!" Merlin shouted back, "why is no one dancing?"

The music kicked off loudly and Arthur gave the DJ his mic back, patting him on the shoulder before heading to the bar. Morgana dragged Merlin in the same direction, insisting that 'mummy needs vodka'.

Merlin leant on the bar beside her as she ordered drinks for them both, scanning the faces on the other side of the bar before locking on Uther's and smiling, waving shyly. Uther smiled back and raised his glass in a toast. His smile fell suddenly and he looked away, turning to talk to Hunith as arms wrapped around Merlin's waist and a body pressed up against his back.

"Heya, Baby," a husky voice said close to his ear, letting warm breath cascade over it. Merlin reached up his arm and pulled Lance forward for a kiss.

"Hey," Merlin answered him.

"Ew!" Morgana shouted over the music. "Gay guys are gross, it's unnatural! Look, this is how it's meant to be," she grinned and took the opportunity to kiss Merlin. "There," she said happily before spotting Gwen over his shoulder, grabbing her drink and disappearing.

"I notice these Pendragons keep kissing you," Merlin's gaze flitted to Uther again and he licked his lips nervously, suddenly feeling the need for a real drink. "Should I be worried?" Merlin calmed himself and turned around in Lance's arms.

"Of course; they could steal me away at any minute," Lance's smile seemed forced and Merlin wrapped his arms around his neck. "I'm kidding, I'm all yours," he promised before kissing him tenderly.

"Sorry, Lance, cutting in," Arthur announced before stealing Merlin away as _It's Raining Men_ started playing, "this is our song!"

Merlin pulled back for just a second to kiss Lance again quickly, "still yours," he repeated, stroking his jaw before disappearing off to the dance floor.

Lance watched as the two began moving against each other and saw Merlin's lips move as he sang the first line and rand his hands up Arthur's sides from his thighs until his arms could wrap around his neck and pull himself closer. Arthur grinned and sang the second line, stroking his hands down Merlin's back to rest on his pert arse, which was perfectly on display in the tight leather trousers Morgana had put him in.

"_Where did you even find these in my closet?" Merlin demanded as Morgana pushed him back onto the bed and began pulling the trousers onto his legs._

"_They appeared in there after I went shopping for you and mixed them in with your other clothes so you would never know," Morgana answered simply before pulling Merlin to stand again and tugging the tight leather up his thighs._

"_Why?" Merlin demanded._

"_Oh, sweetie," Morgana began sweetly, holding his chin, "You're fun to accessorise. Now, I think these would look better without underwear, and it would be more practical for—"_

"_It would not!" Merlin shouted, pulling the trousers up himself. "The stitching's rough, and if _things_ don't work, then what am I supposed to do?"_

"_Fine, but at least you're wearing briefs," she fastened the trousers and turned back to the clothes on the bed. "Now, tops."_

Arthur tapped his hand on Merlin's cheek to the beat of the music as they moved against one another. Merlin pulled himself closer as the beat picked up, his face close to Arthur's as they began bouncing on the balls of their feet. When the chorus kicked off, it all got a bit arms up and jumpy.

"You OK there?" Lance turned to find Morgana and Gwen staring at him expectantly.

"Yeah, I…they seem…well practiced at that," Lance noted awkwardly.

"Yeah," Morgana laughed, "they are." Lance swallowed thickly and frowned at the scene. "You know it's fine, right? There like brothers," Morgana glanced at the boys briefly. "Weird, slightly incestuous brothers," she stopped, seeing it wasn't helping at all.

"Do you want to dance with us?" Gwen offered.

"Oops, sorry, you two can dance, but I see many men. Have fun, kiddies," she hurried off, grabbing Leon's tie as she went and dragging him to the dance floor behind her, earning wolf whistles from the rest of the team.

"So, um, dance?" Lance asked, gesturing to the dance floor. Gwen grinned and let him lead her. "You're Arthur's girlfriend, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Gwen shouted over the music and glanced to the boys. "I think we're with the wrong partner!" she joked.

Arthur pulled Merlin close again, hugging him tight. "Are you still sure?" he asked, spotting Lance and Gwen over Merlin's shoulder.

"Yes, Arthur. Haven't you and Gwen—"

"No, we haven't!" Arthur cut him off. "I'm ending this conversation now. Do you know how?"

"How?" Merlin asked, grinning.

"By getting the parents," he let go of Merlin quickly and jogged to where Hunith and Uther were sat, watching them.

"No, wait," Merlin said in a panic before catching himself and standing calmly as Arthur pulled their parents towards him. _Oh God, oh God, oh God_, it was the closest he'd been to Uther since they ended their affair.

"Come one, Merlin, dance with Dad. Mum, let's go!" he said happily as he left Uther with Merlin and started dancing with Hunith screaming "God bless Mother Hunith! She's a single woman too!" making her laugh while they danced.

Merlin and Uther, meanwhile, stood looking at each other awkwardly until Uther smirked and started dancing horribly. "Oh God, not Dad-dancing!" Merlin laughed but started dancing none-the-less, the awkwardness draining away from the situation.

As the night went on, the alcohol flowed freely and Merlin found himself pressed between Freya and Morgana on the dance floor while they three of them touched and grinding against one another to a . Freya seemed to particularly enjoy touching Morgana, and Morgana didn't seem to object. Apparently, alcohol brought out the lesbian streak in them both.

When this was happening, however, he didn't notice when Arthur and a couple of the 'knights' clapped Lance on the shoulder and took hold of his arms to lead him outside, despite Lance's protests.

"Ladies and gentlemen, could I have your attention please," Hunith's voice echoed as a song ended. "Merlin, where are you?" Merlin waved from where he was stood, Gwen on his lap with his arms around her waist. "Ah, there you are. Come up here, baby," she beckoned. Gwen stood to allow Merlin to jog semi-athletically to the small stage Hunith was stood on. "Not that I can call you baby anymore," there was a loud 'Aw!' from the crowd at this.

Merlin stood up on the stage beside her. "Whoa! Definitely not, stand back down there, could you?" she joked, and Merlin was about to comply before she wrapped an arm around his waist. "Right, because I still see you as my baby, we're going to sing to you, and then, because Arthur knows you're not a baby, he's going to bring in your cake."

"Oh God, please no!" Merlin complained, only half-serious.

"Ready everyone?" Merlin scanned the room as everyone sang to him, but couldn't see the face he was looking for. He gave Arthur, who was stood by the door, a questioning look and Arthur merely winked in response before walking calmly towards the dance floor, picking a chair up on his way.

Everyone cheered when they finished singing and Hunith gave Merlin a hug and a kiss before handing the mic to Arthur and heading to Uther, who was a welcome refuge against the next part of the night.

"Now then, Merlin," Arthur smirked and rested a hand on Merlin's shoulder, guiding him to the chair. "Merlin, Merlin, Merlin," he punctuated the final repetition by pushing Merlin to sit in the chair. "What are we going to do with you, Merlin?" he asked, resting a hand on the back of the chair and leaning in closely to Merlin's face. "Because you've been bad, haven't you?" Merlin cringed and hid his face in his hands.

"What have you done?" he whimpered a grin on his face.

"Well, Merlin, we got you a cake." Arthur stood and looked to the door. "Leon, Percy, you can bring it in now. DJ, if you would be so kind?" As Leon and Percy pushed in a huge cake — that obviously wasn't cake — the DJ played the appropriate stripper music, backed up by a few cat calls and wolf whistles from the crowd.

"What's in it?" Merlin asked warily when the men left the 'cake' five feet in front of Merlin.

"Oh, the usual, cream and such things," Arthur said, smirking as a tan hand broke through the top of the cake, and every woman gathered around. Slowly, the man stood, spraying whipped cream into his mouth as he did, stopping when he was at his full height to swallow and wink at Merlin before climbing out of the cake completely.

Merlin was expecting a random, muscled guy, greased up in baby oil and in tiny, gold shorts beneath clothing that would be ripped off to the beat of music. What he was not expecting was his muscled boyfriend to be greased up in in baby oil and in tiny, gold shorts beneath clothing that would be ripped off to the beat of P!NK's _Fingers_.

Merlin could do nothing but stare as Lance threw the police hat to the crowd and began on his tie. "If you don't want him, I'll have him, Merlin!" Morgana shouted from where she was filming by the edge of the dance floor, Freya standing close by and looking quite pleased with herself.

"Back off, bitch. This one's all mine," Merlin slapped his thighs in invitation and grinned as Lance straddled him, placing a strong hand on Merlin's shoulder and moving his hips to the music. "Arthur!" Merlin called above the music, turning to see the blonde stood beside the chair still. "Thank you, now bugger off, you're no longer needed here!"

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**A/N: Just the usual request with the same old hugs and kisses! xox **

**D.x - Just now realise that this looks like someone winking rather than a way to sign my name...**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Hello, my lovelies! I'd like to apologise for the ridiculous delay between chapters, there was a malfunction in my laptop so it had to be sent back to the manufacturer. Then when I got it back I was out of the rhythm. But I am back now!**

**So I hope you enjoy this chapter, however, I should warn you of the Lance/Merlin sex coming up...NOW!**

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**Chapter 14**

Arthur found Lance after the 'show', getting dressed in the men's, pulling on his shirt and adjusting his hair. "Hey," he called, announcing his presence as he stepped through the door.

"Hey, you alright, mate?" Lance was a good guy, Arthur knew that, but Merlin was his little brother, so he had to double check he knew the rules, the limits.

"Yeah, thanks for that. It really put a smile on his face," Arthur said awkwardly. "It's probably the closest he's ever been to sex. Which, um…just…" Arthur laid a hand on his shoulder and leant in so Lance could hear him. "I'm giving you a fair warning, OK? If you hurt Merlin, if you don't stop when he tells you to, if you're not good to him, ever, I'll…no, sorry," he pointed his thumb over his shoulder to the door behind him, correcting himself. "We'll make you pay, is that understood?"

"Of course, I understand." Lance held out his hand for Arthur, who took it and shook it firmly. "You have my word, Merlin's safe with me," Lance promised, meaning every word. "Aside from the fact that Freya warned me that you'd kick the shit out of me and Morgana would put my balls in a vice, I care about Merlin and I won't hurt him," he finished. Arthur said nothing to this, just nodded once and left, returning to the party.

Lancelot followed soon after, the hat still on his head and the police shirt over his arm. He found Merlin and crept up behind him, draping the shirt over his shoulders as he wrapped his arms around his waist. "Hey, Handsome," he said fondly, kissing Merlin's temple.

"Hey, clothes back on, now?" Merlin asked cheekily.

"Yep."

"Hmm, shame," Morgana murmured. Lance winked at her before spinning Merlin.

"Want to dance?"

By the end of the night, Merlin had the shirt over his t-shirt and the police hat resting on his head. Also, almost everyone was drunk. Merlin had spent a few songs dancing, grinding and laughing between Arthur and Lance, earning jealous glances from a few of the girls and cat calls from Morgana.

For the final dance, however, the DJ slowed the music to Enrique Iglesias' _Hero_, which had Arthur squeezing Gwen to him; Uther and Hunith swaying slightly where they sat close together, Uther's arm around her shoulders; Freya curling up on Morgana's lap; and Merlin and Lance with their arms wrapped around each other on the dance floor, Lance murmuring the lyrics in Merlin's ear, kissing his neck softly occasionally.

"They're lovely together, aren't they?" Hunith asked Uther, not taking her eyes off her son. Uther swallowed and smiled sadly.

"Almost completely perfect," he agreed.

"I'm so glad Merlin's finally found someone who makes him happy. And look at Arthur; just think, all those years of being unable to separate them with a crowbar and locking everyone out of their worlds. And now look at them: they're so grown up." Uther squeezed Hunith tighter.

"They're still our boys," he noted fondly.

"Still our boys, our big boys now," Hunith chuckled.

Gwen kissed Arthur's cheek gently as they danced. "Are you OK? You seem tense."

"Just…keeping an eye on Will," he lied, glancing at Merlin and Lance over Gwen's shoulder. "He keeps sniffing around Morgana."

"Don't worry, I'm sure he's harmless," she assured him gently.

"Yeah…it'll be fine," Arthur agreed unconvincingly.

Merlin opened the door to Lance's flat and held it open as Lance brought in armfuls of presents. "I thought you said a few, Merlin!"

"I know, I feel so spoilt, Mum's taking Will and most of the presents back to the flat, and there's still loads for me to open here," he laughed as he closed the door, leaning with his back against it.

"So are you going to open them now or in the morning?" Lance asked as he lowered the presents onto the sofa.

_Seductive, Merlin, sexy, you've done this before, so just_, Merlin swallowed thickly, _just say something suggestive or—_ "Well, I thought maybe I could have a gift from you," he began, hoping he appeared confident and sure of himself. "And you could have a gift from me?"

"Yep," Lance agreed automatically before the words caught up with him. "Wait, wait, what?" Lance turned around and there was Merlin in his tight leather trousers, Lance's 'police' shirt undone over the simple t-shirt he was wearing and the hat perched at a jaunty angle on his head. "Oh," Lance said vaguely, eyebrows raised. "Oh," he repeated, lowering his eyebrows again. "_Oh_," he said again, more seductively time, as he walked slowly towards Merlin, almost warily.

"Yeah?" Merlin asked, smiling hopefully.

"Yeah," Lance agreed. Merlin stepped away from the door, throwing the hat to the side as he moved forwards.

"Yeah," Merlin confirmed cheerfully, grinning broadly and giggling as he wrapped his arms around Lance's neck, kissing him sweetly. "Yeah," he repeated calmly, stroking Lance's hair.

"Are you sure?" Lance asked, even as he lowered the 'police' shirt from Merlin's slim shoulders.

"Definitely," Merlin answered, pushing Lance's jacket of his shoulders. The world moved quickly around them in the next few minutes until both men found themselves on the bed wearing only their boxers, kissing while they pressed against each other. In the haze of it all, Merlin had remembered to put his phone on the night stand, within easy reach, "I made a promise," he said by way of explanation when Lance questioned the action.

"Want to make you feel so _good_, Merlin," Lance breathed against Merlin's lips, grinding down against him. "Look at you, so lovely for me. God, so _new_; so gorgeous, Merlin," he kissed Merlin's neck as his hands skimmed down Merlin's sides as though he was afraid to touch him.

"Yes, Lance…touch me…touch me properly," Merlin gasped as he trailed his hands down Lance's back.

"You're sure?" Lance asked again, at least the fifth time now.

"Yes, Lance, yes, always yes. I want you," Merlin said sincerely, hand resting on the back of Lance's head. "So come on, lover boy; show me what you're made of!" Lance chuckled and kissed Merlin's lips softly.

"You've been drinking, haven't you?" he murmured against Merlin's soft lips.

"I haven't had a single drink all night, I've been waiting for this…for you," Merlin confessed, stoking a hand down Lance's back to rest on his waist.

"What do you want, Merlin?" Lance whispered softly.

"I want you," Merlin swallowed. "I want you inside me," he gentle rested his fingers on Lance's jaw, cupping his face softly as he kissed him tenderly. "Have me?" he asked shyly. Lance groaned softly and pushing his hips down into Merlin's again.

"Yes," Lance kissed Merlin's neck, sucking a bruise into the skin while rubbing against Merlin. Merlin's grip tightened in Lance's hair and he bucked his hips up to meet Lance's movements. When Lance released Merlin's neck, he moved lower, leaving a trail of sloppy, wet kisses down Merlin's torso until he reached Merlin's boxers. "Still OK?" he asked against the skin when Merlin's breathing increased dramatically. He glanced up to see Merlin up on his elbows, looking down at him with trusting eyes, pupils blown wide.

"Yes, just…you're…God, Lance, stop teasing and touch me," Merlin whimpered, letting himself fall back against the bed, gripping the side of the pillow harshly as he screwed his eyes shut.

Lance licked across the top of the waistband, his tongue moving lower and lower, following the boxers as he moved them down off Merlin's hips. He didn't touch Merlin's cock, however, instead licked the inside of his hip then down onto the sensitive skin on the inside of his thigh. When he had pulled the boxers off completely, he quickly pulled down his own, his eyes never leaving Merlin's cock.

Merlin was looking down at him again, breathing heavily and looking like he wanted to touch any part of the man above him, but was too nervous to. Lance crawled onto Merlin and took hold of the other man's cock, giving it a gentle tug. Merlin gasped and clutched Lance's waist with one hand, reaching for the man's cock with the other, giving it a timid stroke that received an encouraging ground from Lance. They stayed like that, just touching each other and breathing heavily into the darkness.

"L-Lance, you should know…I won't last long like this, and I want you, could we…please?" Lance kissed Merlin once more before releasing him and easing him onto his stomach.

"I'm going to do something now, it might seem weird but you'll enjoy it, OK? Just trust me," Lance murmured into the back of Merlin's head while he reached into the nightstand. He kissed the top of Merlin's spine and licked all the way down, reaching his coccyx where he stilled as he gently pulled Merlin's cheeks apart then continued further down.

Merlin bucked and squirmed. "Sorry," he panted, "sorry, I'll keep still…"

"Do you know what I'm going to do?" Lance breathed against him. Merlin made a whimpering, keening sound.

"I've got a good idea," Merlin answered impatiently.

"Good," Lance murmured before leaning forward and pressing his tongue firmly against Merlin's puckered hole.

"Ah, fuck, Christ, bugger," Merlin cursed quickly, hooking his feet over Lance's legs, toes curling against the skin and muscle. Lance smirked and licked again, poking and lapping at the hole until Merlin was whining and writhing, alternating between reaching back to grab at Lance's head and clutching the pillow beneath his head.

Lance pulled back to reach for the tube of lube he had placed next to him on the bed while kissing Merlin's left cheek, biting and sucking it to leave a mark. "Merlin, I'm going to—"

"I know, it's OK, please…I'll tell you if I want to stop," Merlin breathed, "God, just hurry."

Lancelot coated his fingers in the lube, easily slipping two into Merlin's slick hole, making him whine and arch. "Lance, God, Lance," Merlin whimpered, caught up in lust and Lance and want.

"I've got you," Lance kissed Merlin's spine and stroked a hand over him. "You're nearly ready for me," he kissed his cheek again, admiring the mark he had left there. "Merlin, I want to make you feel so good," Lance moaned, pressing another finger into Merlin. "There, just a little bit more—"

"Anymore and I'll…Lance it's enough—too much. Come on," Merlin gasped, reaching back to take hold of Lance's free hand, looking over his shoulder to lock his eyes on Lance's.

"Alright," Lance cleared his throat, "yeah, OK." He gently pulled his hands back and grabbed the condom, rolling it down over his hard cock, giving a low groan as he stroked it a few times. "Ready?" he asked, a hand resting on Merlin's hip.

"Yes, just…" he reached back and took hold of Lance's hand again, pulling it up to his face and kissing his knuckles. Lance had to shift so his body was covering Merlin's in order to keep himself steady and let Merlin keep a shaking hold on his hand. "OK," Merlin consented, holding Lance's hand between both of his own.

"It's OK, I've got you," Lance murmured comfortingly, kissing Merlin's hair as he pushed forward. Merlin threw his calf over Lance's as he moaned softly, hips shifting unconsciously, even as Lance tried to still them. "OK, there you go, I'm in now," Merlin suddenly registered the feeling of Lance's hips pressed against him. "How are you doing there, my lovely?" Lance cooed, kissing Merlin neck.

"Good, yeah," Merlin panted. Lance felt so different to Uther, the angle, the weight, the kisses, the atmosphere, his cock felt…it was longer, definitely longer, and slightly slimmer. Not that Merlin was comparing them, because his time with Uther didn't count, not really, not like this, because Lance felt amazing inside him.

He started moving and Merlin was too distracted to think of anything else, least of all Uther. He was busy thinking of how Lance _definitely _knew what he was doing. He knew just where to touch him, the angle to move at, how to kiss him breathless. Sure, he didn't have years of experience under his belt, but Lance's belt had very little under it other than carpet as it was lay on the floor in that very moment. This—_stop thinking_ Merlin willed his brain, and it complied when Lance brushed over his prostate.

"Oh, God, Lance!" Merlin moaned, reaching back to grab hold of Lance's neck, pulling him forward. Instead of kissing him again, as Merlin had hoped, Lance instead latched on to his neck, making Merlin moan louder.

"You're so beautiful, Merlin," Lance breathed into his ear. "God, I don't know how I found you, look at you. You're so perfect," he kissed Merlin's temple. "I want to see you let go, come on, Darling."

Merlin turned slightly so he could look right at Lance. "Kiss me again," he said quietly. Lance complied immediately. "Touch me, Lance," he murmured against Lance's lips before kissing him properly again.

Lance moved his fingers to Merlin's waist, drumming them lightly against the skin until Merlin lifted himself up on his knees slightly so Lance could reach his neglected cock. Lance was supporting himself on one hand so he didn't give Merlin extra weight to lift and used the other to grab Merlin's cock, stroking it slowly to the tip once.

"My God, Merlin," he kissed the soft skin just behind Merlin's ear. "You feel so good, can't wait until the day I have you inside me." Merlin moaned at the thought.

"Yes, Lance," he whimpered as Lance picked up the pace on his cock, maintaining a gentle rhythm in his thrusts. "Yes, just…just a bit more, Lance…Lance, oh _God, Lance_," Merlin moaned and whimpered as he came, his head thrown back onto Lance's shoulder, eyes screwed shut.

"Merlin, fuck, you're so tight, I can't—" Merlin experimentally clenched his muscles around Lance, and that was all it took. Lance came inside him, letting his weight fall onto Merlin, pushing him into the mattress.

He slowly pushed himself up again, pulling out of Merlin and standing so he could tie and bin the condom. Merlin rolled over and rubbed his hand across the sheets. "I've ruined you're duvet," he said softly, still breathing heavily.

"Nah," Lance dismissed Merlin's concerns and pulled a back of baby wipes out of the drawer. "Here you are, that's a blanket, by the way, I'll just chuck it in the wash," he explained as Merlin stood and took the wipes.

"You have baby wipes?" Merlin said dumbly, pulling one out of the packet and wiping his hand, stomach, cock and thighs with it.

"My niece and nephew pop round sometimes," Lance said as he pulled off the blanket and threw it in the corner for the washer tomorrow. "They're surprisingly sticky," he finished. He turned as Merlin threw the baby wipe in the bin. "All clean now?" he asked, knowing full well that he'd missed a spot.

"Yep," Merlin said brightly as he handed the pack back to Lance. Lance took out a wipe and put the packet on the nightstand. He smirked and pulled Merlin closer to him, resting him against his chest and wrapping an arm around his waist.

"I don't think you are, I think there's a bit that's still wet," Lance said seductively as he trailed his fingers down Merlin's spine before reaching his wet hole and pressing the wipe up against it, drawing it over the hole slowly.

Merlin made a choking, gasping sound as his eyes went wide and he clutched to Lance like he was dying. "See? I told you," Lance repeated the motion slowly, pupils blown wide at the expression on Merlin's face. He made sure all the lube was gone – enjoying the small sounds Merlin made as he did so – before binning the wipe and pulling Merlin down into bed, under the covers.

They lay on their sides, Merlin huddled in Lance's arms, nose to nose and kissing softly every so often. "Good first time?" Lance whispered into the darkness.

_Well, I've had three now_, Merlin thought. Instead he said, "the best," and kissed Lance again, snuggling further into the gorgeous man next to him, burrowing down slightly so his head rested just beneath Lance's.

"Good," he heard Lance reply in a whisper, "because I'm keeping you." Merlin smiled softly, feeling as though he belonged. "And it's going to take a lot to get rid of me, young man," he finished in a slight grumble, giving Merlin a quick squeeze until he giggled softly, already half asleep.

Lance watched Merlin as he slept, he could see little in the darkness, but could just make out his facial features. "I owe Freya a lot," he whispered, although he knew Merlin couldn't hear him. "What she's given me…months I've had you and it's doesn't seem like long enough. I really do want to keep you Merlin," he whispered. "I could be in love with you," he kissed Merlin's forehead and the smaller male shuffled slightly in his sleep. "We'll find out at some point, won't we?" he closed his eyes, settled and content beside Merlin and let himself slip into unconsciousness.

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**A/N: Hope you enjoyed it, have a good evening :)**


	15. Chapter 15

******A/N: So, hello. Yes, I know it's shit, but I'm getting there, OK? It's just taking a while, sorry.**

**Hope you all had a very merry Christmas!**

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**Chapter 15**

Lance woke slowly, groaning and stretching an arm across the bed to find it empty. He sat up and looked around. No Merlin. "Merlin?" he called, standing and grabbing a pair of boxers from the draw, pulling them on.

"Merlin, love?" he tried again as he went through to the lounge, running a hand through his hair. And there was Merlin, sat leaning against the sofa on the thick carpet , surrounded by presents, wearing only Lance's boxers.

"Having fun?" Lance asked, finally getting Merlin's attention and making him drop the small package he was holding in surprise.

"Hey! I like your flat, it's nice and toasty," Merlin greeted, wiggling in excitement as he picked up the present again.

Lance crawled carefully across the sofa and sat behind Merlin, arranging his legs so Merlin was nestled between them. "I'm glad you like it so much," he said, resting his head on Merlin's. Merlin looked up and kissed him, hands still working on the wrapping. "So what did you get?" Lance asked, leaning on Merlin's head.

"Various knick-knacks from the knights: a cool iPod case, Thornton's chocolates, things like that, and – oh look!" Merlin held up some strings and a bit of cloth on one finger. "Elyan popped into _Anne Summers_ and got me a nice thong."

"Ah, that was nice of him," Lance commented, taking the thong from Merlin and examining it.

"Yes, he also got me _Sherlock Holmes_ on DVD," Merlin said gleefully, tapping the DVD on the coffee table.

"Yes, Robert Downy Jr. and thongs are perfect together, aren't they?" Lance asked with a chuckle, stroking Merlin's hair. "So you like Sherlock Holmes?"

"I _love_ this movie," Merlin told him, his stomach growling its own opinion.

"You want to watch it while we have breakfast? I'll make pancakes," Lance offered, smoothing Merlin's hair back and kissing his forehead.

"OK, do you want me to help?" Merlin asked.

"Birthday boy does not cook," Lance told Merlin with a pout, poking Merlin's nose.

"Alright then, I'll bask in my gifts and fantasise about Jude Law and Robert Downy Jr.," Merlin said dreamily as Lance climbed out of the nest of presents and paper Merlin had built up on and around the sofa.

"I hope I'm included in that fantasy," Lance countered playfully.

"Of course," Merlin answered as he opened the box. "You're ridding lovely Mr. Law of his top hat and tie, I'm just working off Robert's jacket," Merlin hummed contently, stroking the cover of the box before breaking into giggles.

"Just put the movie on, you strange man," Lance laughed back, tossing a cushion at Merlin.

"Mmm, pancakes," Merlin happily ate the last bite of his pancake, moaning softly at the taste of sugar and lemon. "You make good pancakes. I am definitely staying here more often."

"Ah, that's all it takes to keep you: a bit of food?" Lance asked, kissing Merlin's cheek.

Lance was sat in the large leather armchair, Merlin between his legs, leaning back against Lance's chest. "That's good to know, I would like to keep you around," he kissed Merlin's ear, nibbling the lobe gently.

"Hmm, shouldn't be too difficult for you; you seem to be annoyingly perfect, what am I meant to do?" Merlin asked, turning and kissing Lance back.

"What? You think you're not perfect?" Lance asked, trailing his hand lower. "You are perfect," he kissed Merlin's neck. "Completely perfect," he murmured, pressing his hand hard against Merlin's crotch, eliciting a shaking gasp from the man.

That was clearly enough of an invitation for Merlin, as he suddenly turned around, straddling Lance's legs so he could rub against him. "Do want to…right here?" Lance asked, somewhat breathless.

"Yes…slowly, though. We have time," Merlin breathed the words, as though he couldn't manage a voice.

"That's Arthur, isn't it?" Merlin asked Lance's neck lazily when the buzzer sounded through the flat.

"Probably," Lance answered in the same tone, not moving to answer the door.

They were squished together in the armchair, Merlin half on top of Lance, both completely naked – it had been a fun morning.

"Make him go away," Merlin whined, pulling Lance's arm tighter around him.

"He's here to collect you and your," Lance glanced at his living room, "your _few_ _presents_, because he actually has a car," Lance reminded Merlin.

"Can't he just leave the car?" Merlin groaned as the buzzer sounded again.

"Come on, up we get," Lance said encouragingly, patting Merlin's leg. "You get cleaned up and dressed, I'll clean the chair."

Merlin snorted. "Sorry, at least it's leather not fabric," he pointed out.

Lance stood and hauled Merlin to his feet, nudging him in the direction of the bedroom and dropping the condom in the bin on the way. "And take these," he tossed their boxers at him and Merlin caught one pair, the other landing on his shoulder.

"Thanks for that," Merlin said flatly before disappearing into the bedroom.

Once Lance had cleaned the chair and Merlin was dressed (which all happened very quickly, while Arthur was impatiently pressing the buzzer), Lance ran to get dressed while Merlin let Arthur into the building.

He began gathering his gifts and clothes while Arthur ascended the stairs. By the time the knock came, he had everything in two large bags and his overnight bag.

"Hi," Arthur greeted as Merlin opened the door.

"Hey!" Merlin returned, wrapping his arms around Arthur's neck, allowing Arthur to grab his waist and lift him up, walking him back into the flat.

"God, you're happy today, birthday boy!" Arthur exclaimed, shaking Merlin slightly.

"I am! I'm _very _happy!" Merlin giggled, pushing the door closed behind Arthur.

"Arthur, hi," Lance greeted as he left the bedroom, pulling a shirt on.

"Hi, Lance," Arthur extended his hand for Lance to shake. "How are you?"

"I'm good, thanks, yourself?"

"Can't complain," Arthur answered with a shrug.

The Smalltalk hung in the air awkwardly until Lance offered to carry Merlin's things down to the car for him and they left the flat.

"I'll see you later, OK?" Merlin said to Lance as Arthur climbed into the car. He hugged Lance and kissed his cheek.

"Alright, look after yourself," Lance kissed Merlin's ear then lowered his voice to a whisper. "Your present's in the bag, sorry it's not much."

"You didn't have to, Lance—"

"Hush, if I want to buy my boyfriend something, I will," Lance teased. He pulled back and kissed Merlin on the lips. "See you later."

"Bye," Merlin kissed him once more before getting into the car, waving as they drove away.

"Good night?" Arthur asked after a few seconds.

"So good, Arthur. Everything was…God, he was…brilliant," Merlin babbled, seemingly unable to complete a sentence.

"So you're no longer a maiden, then?" Arthur asked with a chuckle.

"Shut up," Merlin said playfully.

"Don't want to hear all the nitty gritty, but just tell me you were safe and sensible and…not hurt," Arthur said awkwardly, hands clenching and unclenching on the steering wheel.

"We were, we were, and I'm not. Guess you'll have to focus on Morgana now," Merlin said with a shrug, trying not to smile and failing.

"Please, there's not a chance in hell she's any kind of maiden," Arthur assured him. "I think she's trying to steal Gwen from me," he added in a stage whisper.

"At least we know she won't try anything with Will," Merlin commented lightly, an uncontrollable grin across his face.

"Hey, Will, I'm home!" Merlin called as he entered the flats, laden with bags of presents, followed by Arthur who was in a similar state.

"Heya, mate, happy birthday!" Will greeted joyfully as he appeared from his bedroom. "Good night?" he asked cheekily.

"Yes, thank you," Merlin answered with a roll of his eyes.

"Ooh, presents! Anything for me?" Will asked excitedly, bounding over to the table, where the two men were setting down the bags.

"Yeah, you can have the thong."

"What?" both Arthur and Will asked in sync.

"Well, if you really want it, Arthur, I guess you can have it," Merlin offered teasingly.

"Yeah, whatever. Open up Lance's present, I want to see if it was suitable for boyfriend-ness," Arthur waved a vague hand in the air as he searched through the bags with his other hand. When he found the right package, he gave a victorious "Ah, ha!" and held it out for Merlin.

Merlin took the gift from Arthur's triumphant hands. It was large, mostly flat, a box of some sort. Merlin opened it excitedly and found that it was an expensive fine art set with a note from Lance: _For my artist's masterpiece_.

"This fell out," Arthur said, breaking Merlin away from the set to look into his hand. He was holding a simple leather bracelet with a metal plate with a dragon beautifully etched into it.

"He's perfect, isn't he?" Merlin asked with a grin, tracing his thumb over the dragon.

"Well he didn't get me anything," Will pointed out, flopping onto the sofa, giving Arthur the perfect chance to whack him in the face with a pillow. "Oi!"

"It's lovely, Merlin. It's nice to have someone prove that men _do_ put some thought into gifts," Arthur said sweetly over Will's complaints.

Merlin could only grin in response, _oh yes, he had actually found the perfect man_. "He's all mine," Merlin told Arthur smugly.

"Damn, I wanted him for myself," Arthur replied sarcastically before asking "You alright getting to Mum's?"

When Merlin moved out, he promised Hunith that he would eat dinner at hers every Birthday and Christmas at least – it was the only way he could get her to let him go, (quite literally, she gave him a goodbye hug, then wouldn't let go).

"Yeah, I'll walk, it isn't far," Merlin assured him with a grateful smile. "Thanks for the lift home, and the party, and my gift."

"And your stripper, and your life," Arthur continued, "and your—"

"Alright, next time I won't thank you if this is how arrogant you get," Merlin shoved Arthur's shoulder, smiling softly. Arthur clapped Merlin's shoulder, pulling him in for a hug.

"Idiot," Arthur said.

"Prat," Merlin said.

"Get married," Will said.

"Did you enjoy dinner?" Hunith asked, pouring Merlin and herself a glass of wine.

"Yes, thank you," Merlin answered, picking up a glass and taking a sip.

"So I'm getting better?"

Merlin laughed in response, "yes, Mum, you're getting better."

There were a few minutes of awkward silence before Hunith spoke again. "You're…you're twenty-one now."

"Yep, can do allsorts—"

"There's something…God, I…" Hunith took deep breaths, stroking the stem of her glass nervously.

"Mum, what's going on? Are you alright?" Merlin asked worriedly, putting down his glass and taking his mother's hand.

"Your…Your father…he gave me some information, something for you," she didn't look at Merlin as she spoke, and took her hand away from his, reaching into her apron pocket for a worn envelope. "He said not until you're twenty one, so…here, Darling," the handed him the envelope gently.

"From Dad?" Merlin asked, staring at the envelope as though it might burst into flames at any moment.

"Yes, I've had it for…well, twenty-one years," Hunith said with a nervous laugh.

"OK…alright…I'm going to go home now and um…yes," Merlin stood, feeling overwhelmed and confused, and shoved the envelope into his back pocket. "I'll see you later, Mum," he said, kissing Hunith's cheek and leaving quickly, despite her protests.

Merlin burst in the door of his flat, shutting it quickly behind him and hurried to his bedroom. "Merlin?" Will called as he passed, but Merlin ignored him and locked his bedroom door.

He sat on the end of his bed, breathing deeply as he stared at the envelope; his name was written in a black fountain pen in neat hand writing, the 'n' smudged a bit where the writer had gone back to dot the 'i' twenty-one years ago.

"OK, OK, Merlin, just open it," he told himself, turning the envelope over in shaking hands. He opened it slowly, then stared at the letter inside, not daring to take it out.

Finally, he pulled it out slowly, unfolding it and reading it quickly.

The basic gist of it was this: Balinor (Merlin's father) loved him, there were many reasons he couldn't be home with him, but he didn't give him a single one. He wanted to stay in touch with Merlin, somehow, and this was the best way he could think to do it.

There were other things, but Merlin couldn't read it, he couldn't get his brain to focus. What he could make out, however, was the very end of the letter:

_.uk EmrysWyllt_

Merlin assumed they were an email address and its corresponding password. Emrys was his mother's surname, he knew that, and Wyllt…that may have been his father's.

Balinor Wyllt…

Merlin instantly went to g-mail, inputting the given information. There were at least one hundred emails there, beginning with _Goodbye_, and ending with _happy 21__st_.

Merlin started reading.

The first email had an attachment – a picture of Balinor holding a new-born Merlin, staring down at him in awe.

_My dear Merlin,_ Merlin read. _I will never forget this moment. You were so small, and for those few minutes you were mine. I wish I could hold you like that every day. Your mother has promised to send me pictures so I can see how you're growing, which is some comfort. Perhaps I will even be able to meet you one day._

_However, right now it is far too dangerous for you to be near me. I do not have the most stable of jobs, you see, and could neither provide security or a constant income. Your mother is a wonderful woman, and I love her very much, so make sure she doesn't forget that. Make sure you don't forget that I love you. Daddy loves you, Merlin, very much._

_Until we meet again, my beloved boy, take care of each other, and I will do my best to protect you both from afar. I hope the day when we can be a family again is not too far away._

_In time, Merlin, all will be explained._

_Goodbye, my Darling,_

_Dad x_

Merlin stared at the screen, not believing his eyes. "Dad," he whispered to himself. Immediately he replied.

_Why can't you be here, what's stopping you? You aren't telling me anything, and that isn't fair. I want to know why I grew up without a father; I have a right to know. What was your job? Why can't you get another one? This email was sent 21 years ago, surely your job has mellowed out by now, so where are you?_

_At least these emails let me know my father's alive, but what good is that if I can't ever see him? I'm angry at you, Balinor. You left and you never came back and. This doesn't count as coming back; you might not even be Balinor. It isn't an apology, and I want an apology. I'm going to read the rest of your emails now, and I hope I find one in there. I'm also changing the password to this account so you can't go editing them._

_Merlin._

He re-read the email, finally he sent it.

With a deep breath he started on the second: _First word_.


	16. Chapter 16

******A/N: Hey, all! Sorry for the slow updates, exams and all. Hope you enjoy this short chapter, another will follow it within the next week or so, I promise.**

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**Chapter 16**

Uther returned from work late once again to his cold, empty house that was now far too big for him. He found himself hoping Morgana would visit more often, counting down the days until Arthur's return.

He immediately had a shower, scrubbing his skin harshly, washing his hands and face repeatedly. It always took so much work to get clean after a job.

He drifted through the house, heated up soup for his dinner, eating in the silence, before slipping into bed.

The sheets were cold around him, and it was clear that winter was setting in. He remembered how Merlin had felt, so warm next to him, warm enough to drive away the chill of winter. He longed for that lithe body beside him. He missed him.

It was only because Merlin was the most recent man he had had, and the first in a long time, Uther told himself. He wondered if he would have him again. He imagined that body moving with his once more, so vibrant and full of enthusiasm.

But it never lasted. Just as he was enjoying the vision, getting to the 'good part' as it were, his mind would always supply the face and body of another young man, _Lance_, he believed his name was.

It was just another bitter reminder that he was longing after what he could not have, that was enjoyed and treasured by another man, far worthier than himself.

Who was he to think that a man like Merlin would want a relationship with a man like _Uther_? Innocent, wonderful Merlin who believed Uther's disgusting lies as he grew up. Beautiful, energetic Merlin who had allowed Uther to take away the innocence that was not his to take.

Even thinking like this, _knowing_ that he didn't deserve the feel of Merlin's lips against his own, the intense blue of his brilliant eyes staring up at him…he still wanted it. He wanted Merlin.

It had been weeks since he had danced with Merlin at his party, weeks since he heard from Arthur Merlin's plans of letting Lance…well.

He knew he shouldn't, that it wasn't fair to Merlin, but he couldn't help it, he needed to know if…

Uther sighed as his thoughts tangled into something incomprehensible, yet undeniably Merlin, turning over in his bed and trying to get comfortably.

Tomorrow, he thought, it could wait until tomorrow.

Merlin was walking back to his flat after his late shift at the restaurant, passing the ginnel he passed every day he worked. It was long and narrow, and acted as a shortcut to a housing estate. Merlin was listening to music, humming along quietly, feeling secure in the familiarity of the route.

However, his familiarity of the area meant that he wasn't on guard or prepared for the hands that grabbed him and pulled him into the ginnel, dragging him further and further in before shoving him forcefully against the wall, the earphone's ripped from his ears.

"Alright there, Darling?" the man asked, grinning as he patted Merlin's cheek.

There were two large men keeping Merlin pinned against the wall, keeping tight grips on his arms and heavy feet atop his own, leaving him unable to do anything other than scream for help.

The man stood in front of him, obviously the goons' leader, was scrawny, and had unruly hair and a piercing in his left ear that was only just visible beneath the hair. There was something distinctly goat-like about his face.

"I'd stop screaming if I were you," the man suggested.

Merlin looked him dead in the eye and screamed louder. "Somebody help me! Help—"

His cries were abruptly cut short by a hard punch to his stomach that knocked the wind out of him. He was stopped from doubling over by the harsh grip on his arms.

"I did warn you," the man taunted, grabbing Merlin's hair and pulling it up with a harsh tug. "So, we've got a nice little fag here, haven't we?"

"You'd know," Merlin croaked.

The punch that split his lip made it clear to Merlin that the man was sensitive about his _masculinity_.

"Bet you've got some nice stuff, haven't you, fag?" the man began searching Merlin's pockets, making him struggle and squirm in the two large men's hold. The movement earned him another punch to the gut.

"Oi! I know you're probably so excited about men being near you, but you're not our type," he sneered. "Now hold still, fag."

He continued searching, pulling out Merlin's iPod and phone. "Here we go, these are nice. Pretty thing like you could probably have earned these with four, five men."

"I'm not a whore," Merlin croaked, coughing so hard all his muscles burned with it.

"Course you're not, fag," the man mocked. Just then Merlin's phone rang, making the man jump and drop it.

"Careful, Cedric," one of the goons warned as _Cedric _bent to pick up the phone. "Can't do nothin' with it if you broke it."

"Ah, our little fag is getting a call from…Uther," he read off the screen. "He your boyfriend? Customer? Let's find out, shall we?" he hit answer and smirked at Merlin. "Hi, _Uther_. Merlin's a little sore, he wants to know if you could take him up the arse, make him feel better."

"Merlin? Who is this?" Uther's voice came through. "Merlin, who's there?"

"Uther, help me! Please, help me!" Merlin shouted painfully. "Please—"

One of the larger men hit him hard in the face. As he slipped from consciousness, he could feel them beating him repeatedly, but could do nothing to top them.

"Merlin?" a voice called to him. "Merlin, wake up—"

"Please go away, you have everything. I don't—"

"Shh, it's OK, baby, you're safe now," the voice assured him and something was draped over him, a blanket maybe? A coat?

There were a few seconds of silence before it continued. "Hello, I need an ambulance with me now, a young man has been beaten, he's bleeding and may have a minor concussion."

Merlin felt himself slipping away again, but the voice was determined to stop him. "Merlin, no, stay awake, stay with me, baby—"

"Hurts," Merlin answered simply.

A hand fitted itself into Merlin's as directions and place names were spoken quickly. "I know, Merlin, but you need to…" but Merlin was gone.

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**A/N: As always, please review as they make me happy and what's wrong with a little happiness?**


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